Ninjagate
by MikeJV37
Summary: During the mission to find the beetle, Naruto and Hinata have a unexpected encounter that will change their world forever, not to mention the rest of the universe. Strong Naruto/Hinata, Naru/Hina plus others?, Fem Kyuubi, lots of OC's, more inside.
1. Episode 150

NinjaGate

Episode 150

By: MikeJV37

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Author's Note: This is my first SG1 fic; hopefully I won't screw it up. I'll try to keep the Stargate characters accurate as far as their main traits and quirks, but don't expect them to stay that way through the entire fic, as I WILL be slowly sprinkling in pervy moments for a while before fully 'perving it up' (where appropriate) and many female characters from both worlds will be... 'lemoned'. Can't handle that, don't read this. You know my work and enjoy my perviness, you'll love this once the fun starts, but it will be a while. You've been warned.

For Naruto this starts at the 'Bikouchuu Beetle Arc', but doesn't follow the timeline after that point. Before it, the story follows canon for the most part with a few minor tweaks to key characters, and the history. The Stargate side starts at the beginning of Season 7, (2003); the characters, and history will be tweaked as well so that the 2 worlds blend together smoothly. A Narutoverse example of this is that the Kyuubi's chakra (like the other bijuu's) is NOT naturally toxic to humans, but its effect on humans _is_ based on the demon's emotional state. It's hate, NOT anger, that makes the chakra toxic. A 'Stargate' example: Jonas Quinn did _not_ join SG1; Daniel was found, and got his memory back sooner than in the series.

Another aspect of this fanfic will be the use of OCs, some recycled from my other fics, and other story-specific ones created by Obakeinu.9-11 just for this cross-over. Be advised that some of these OCs are _very_ important to the overall story... they're not just walk-ons for color and giggles. As any avid reader of the Naruto manga knows, certain aspects of Kishimoto's universe is covered in great detail, other parts... not so much; that why many authors use OCs... to cover gaps that they feel are important to fill in. That goes double for authors who are intent on creating unique AUs for their readers; this _is_ one of those fics. So, if you're an OC-hater, this is probably not a fanfic for you.

A couple of final advisories: there'll be no 'bashing' in this fanfic. So, if you're expecting any '2-minute hate' rants against certain cannon characters... don't hold your breath. The other warning: the Earth side of this fic is set (as noted above) in 2003; Stargate SG1 didn't pretend that September 11 _didn't_ happen... and neither will we. So, if you're expecting a 'PC', touchy-feely treatment of certain nations... _and_ certain religious faiths, this is NOT a fic for you. While there won't be any deliberate bashing, there'll be _no_ 'rose-colored glasses' either... there is no 'Coexist' bumper sticker on this fanfic. Whether it be on Earth, or the SG1 universe at large... evil exists. Period. If you can't handle _that_... find another fanfic to read.

If you can't handle _that_, or any of the other tweaks to either show, please don't read this fic, A LOT of work went into making this fic, and not just by me. A Final Note, the updates will be on a regular schedule, every 2-4 weeks from today. This also will have no effect on updating my other fics as I have been.

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===March 12, 2:30 PM, Beetle Valley=== Naruto World

She felt so weak, so totally…useless. She had worked so hard since the Chuunin Exams to get strong, yet here she was, tied to a post like a helpless little girl. She knew in her place Neji would have easily beaten all three of them; she KNEW their jutsu should have been no match for her Gentle Fist. Hinata glanced quickly at the older kunoichi standing nearby, while the two brothers (as she'd learned they were…and the girl was probably their older sister, but she wasn't positive) were standing near the rock wall of the valley, looking at her like they wanted to... violate her. She hoped Naruto-kun found her first, or her teammates.

Her head suddenly whipped up and towards the two brothers as the wall behind them exploded in what looked like a water jutsu, but the rock wasn't thrown out, it just... vanished, then 'it' hit the brothers, (caught by surprise as well) utterly erasing their existence, then the shimmering, watery-looking gout retracted back into the wall, and to her surprise, turning into what looked like a big metallic ring surrounding a pond turned on its side. But what appeared to resemble water... wasn't spilling out.

===Another (very distant) Planet, 5 Minutes Ago===

He ducked behind the big rock, panting, and glanced to his left. "Monks you said... 'trust me' you said... 'They won't know we were there until we're gone' you said..." He groused. Between breaths, he rose up and fired a short burst with his trusty P90, killing the Jaffa coming down the hill 30 yards away.

"It worked in the movie." The man in glasses replied calmly and noted the expression on the older man's face; he was clearly annoyed with the current situation.

"I know... shut up Daniel." Daniel supplied helpfully, and mentally smiled. It had been barely 7 weeks since his de-ascension and he was already back in his usual rut. Daniel loved it, but he wasn't going to admit it to Jack.

"It was a good movie, and the plan seemed sound." The biggest man of the small group said in his typical, flat tone of voice.

"It almost worked Daniel, you'll be in charge again, someday... don't worry, we got out alive, and that's what matters. Dial us home, we'll hold them off." The blonde woman added.

"Yeah, when I'm an old man, thanks Sam. Sorry Jack, Teal'c." Daniel replied. He sighed, smirked, and ran for the DHD.

Teal'c stood and fired off 2 shots with his staff, killing one of the advancing Jaffa. He quickly re-knelt behind the large rock he had chosen as cover, shielding him as a bolt of energy passed over his head.

With a tight grin, Sam added, "Technically sir, it didn't work because we forgot to ask if there was a password before knocking them out." She added to the conversation by firing off a long burst with her P90, dropping two more advancing Jaffas.

"I know... I'll buy him a beer or something, okay?" Jack replied and sighed, then turned when he heard the 'whoosh'.

"Sam signal 'em so we don't splatter on the iris. Move out!" Jack commanded, then stood and moved toward the Gate, sweeping a small group of Jaffa with short controlled bursts from his P90, providing cover fire and skillfully hitting several of them.

Sam pulled a device from her pocket and punched in the code to activate the Stargate. "Ready to go sir!"

They all broke cover and ran straight for the Gate; just before they reached it, the Gate was struck by two enemy staff blasts at once. None of the retreating party noted the symbols ringing the Stargate momentarily flashing as it absorbed the impact of energy bolts.

In their defense, they were a tad busy dodging the incoming staff fire; Sam and Jack triggered off long and short bursts over their shoulders with their P90's in response.

===Naruto's World, location ?===

They exited the 'gate and halted in their tracks in shock.

"Uh... Daniel... where's our base?" Jack asked with a sarcastic, curious tone.

"I don't understand, I dialed the same address I always do." Daniel replied, quite confused by the setting around them.

A female voice screamed in rage, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHERS?"

They all turned towards the source of the frantic voice; it was a brunette in a long brown coat. "What's she doing with her hands?" Jack asked, very confused with the turn of events.

"STINGING SWARM JUTSU!" She yelled out, flinging open her coat as hundreds of bees came flying out.

Jack's eyes widened in shock. "O-o-o-okay, that's a new one."

From somewhere behind them, a young male voice yelled out, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

The SG1 team watched in stunned amazement as about two dozen blonde kids in orange jump suits appeared out of nowhere, and attacked the oncoming swarm. They watched the scene in awe and shock as the blonde kids, all of them identical in appearance, started vanishing in puffs of smoke. "Get away from Hinata-chan!' they heard him yell, pointing to another girl they then noticed; bound to a nearby post and smiling at the blonde boy. Apparently they were friends, and the other, older girl was an enemy.

Sam's head swiveled about like it was on ball bearings. '_What the hell is going on... are those... actually copies of him?_'

They watched as the brown-clad female bit her thumb, made some more signs with her hands, then slapped the ground and cried out, "Summon." There was a huge puff of smoke and out of it, a queen bee the size of a bus appeared, the older girl immediately jumped on its back.

The blonde kid, instead of running away, just smiled in response and made a cross with his fingers... and another perfect copy of him appeared out of a cloud of smoke. The original held his hand out, palm up as the copy moved its hands rapidly over the original's hand until a blue ball of energy appeared, then the copy vanished.

Jack commented out loud, "Any idea what the hell is going on?"

Daniel replied, "If I didn't know better I'd say we're in the middle of a bad kung fu movie." He added silently, '_This can't be real... can it?_'

They watched in amazement as the blond youth charged straight at the woman standing atop the giant bee, then leapt a good 30' into the air, shoving the blue ball at its head as he yelled, "Rasengan!" Just as the ball of energy hit, the huge insect whipped its tail up and seemed to impale the boy with an equally large stinger. At that, the outsized insect exploded in a cloud of smoke; both the woman and blonde fell to the ground. The bound, dark-haired girl screamed, "NARUTO-KUN!", and slumped over in a faint.

The blonde boy had landed hard and seemed to be knocked out; however, the older girl landed equally hard, but on her feet. Jack announced, "Okay, I've seen enough. We can sort this all out later." He punctuated his remark with a shot from his Zat, stunning the older girl. Jack pointed with his Zat and started issuing orders, "Daniel, grab the kid; Sam free the girl in the gray coat and bring her too. There should be a DHD somewhere nearby... Teal'c find it. We're getting the hell out of here before things get any weirder." Jack shook his head. '_Hammond's gonna think we're drunk, or crazy, when we do the de-brief on all this shit_.'

Teal'c quickly found the DHD in some nearby bushes, cleared them away and dialed in the combination that would get them home. Sam sent the code again, and they went through the Gate. It closed a few moments before Kiba and Shino appeared.

===Cheyenne Mountain, Stargate Command, Gate Room===

General Hammond asked, "What the hell happened? We received your Iris code, but you didn't come through."

"I don't know sir. Daniel dialed us home and we ended up somewhere else with... them." Jack replied and motioned to the two unconscious kids. He knelt down and checked the boy for a pulse, "We should get 'em to Dr. Fraiser, the kid was... stung by a big bee, sir."

General Hammond looked and saw the growing blood stain on the blonde boy's stomach. "A bee did that?"

"It was a really big bee sir... like a bus with wings." Jack explained, stretching out his arms in emphasis.

"Indeed, it was most impressive." Teal'c added emotionlessly.

General Hammond waved his hand. "Go, debriefing in one hour."

===10 Minutes Later, SG1 Ready Room===

Sam explained, "As best I can figure sir, the energy from the staff blasts must have caused some kind of quantum fluctuation in the..."

Jack interrupted her. "Carter... headache."

"Basically sir, the Stargate overloaded somehow and instead of taking us back here, it jumped us to the other planet. Our call home was redirected." Sam added with a smirk.

===5 Minutes Earlier, SGC Medical Unit No. 1===

Dr Fraiser paused in her note-taking and glanced at her two new charges for about the fifth time; she watched as one of the orderlies cleaned up the bloody waste and soiled equipment, her senior nurse readying an IV for the boy. Dr Fraiser shook her head in disbelief. "Helen, tell me you saw what I saw. That boy's wound closed up without any trace of scarring in less than the span of an hour."

"Ma'am, for as long as I've been here at Stargate Command, I've learned to not be surprised at _anything_ in this place." She leaned down and gently brushed the boy's cheek. "What do you make of these scars?"

Janet rose from her chair and walked over to the bed. "I don't think they're scars. Call me crazy, but I think the marks on his face are natural occurrences... given the fact that we watched all the trauma on this boy's body heal and fade away at a rate I've never witnessed, even with Teal'c as a benchmark."

The nurse asked, "Do you still want me to start the IV, Doctor?"

Janet looked down at the boy, his peaceful face accenting his natural good looks. It so at odds with the condition he, and the girl in the next bed, were in when the medics brought them to her. Janet's gaze switched to her other patient. She was an even greater mystery... she still didn't know what to make of the girl's eyes; and the fact that she had to call in a maintenance tech to cut the fine, hardened wire that girl had been bound up with. She shuddered at how close that wire had come to opening the surface veins and arteries on the girl's wrists.

Janet shook her head in disbelief and promised herself that she would give Col. O'Neill a proper tongue-lashing for not freeing the girl before transporting her. "Better safe than sorry, Helen. Go ahead and hook him up. Give him a saline and glucose drip, monitor and note his vitals every 30 minutes for the next 4 hours."

"Yes Doctor."

===In Another Place===

Hinata found herself floating in a sea of warm, soft light. Despite her comforting surroundings she was curled tightly in on herself. Over and over again, the events of her mission with Naruto and her teammates replayed in her mind. Her fight with the enemy nins, her capture and the leering stares of the two brothers as they closed on her. Every replay of those events gripped her tighter than the last; the sense of shame that flooded her body burned like fire.

The leering faces of the Iwa nins faded, only to be replaced by the face of her father. 'You're weak.' His stony gaze pierced her soul, his words lashed her worse than the cruelest whip. 'You're such a disappointment to me.'

Hinata reflexively curled into an even tighter ball, hot tears leaking from her eyes; her body ached as a bitter sadness washed over her.

'I..I'm s..so s..sorry father.' She murmured. 'I..I d..don't w..want t..to be w..weak.'

===3 Minutes Earlier, SGC Medical Unit No. 1===

The metallic clatter of a tray hitting the floor halted Dr Fraiser's train of thought; the panicky voice of her head nurse derailed it. "Dr Fraiser! Something's happening!"

Dr Janet Fraiser shot out of her chair and turned to see the nurse back-peddling at speed away from the boy's bed. She gasped at the sight before her... the boy's body was fully encased in a warm orange glow; what truly unsettled her was the sight of the glow moving... shifting and bubbling like something... alive. Her hand began to inch towards the room's Panic Button, then halted when something new happened.

Frozen with fascination, she watched as a slender orange tendril extended from the boy and slowly snaked towards the girl in the next bed over. Her breath hitched in her throat as the tendril made contact with the girl's face... and tenderly stroked it.

===Meanwhile, Back in Hinata's Not-So-Happy Place===

**"Hinata... Hinata, why do you weep?"**

Hinata froze up, her sobbing came to a halt. 'Who's there?' She looked about slowly for the source of the voice; it was warm and gentle...so much like her mother's but different. Hinata straightened her body and sat up. Try as she might, she saw nothing save the soft whiteness surrounding her. 'W..who are you? W..where are you?'

**"You didn't answer my question, child. Why do you weep?"** The gentle feminine voice came from everywhere, and nowhere.

'I..I'm a f..failure. A..a d..disappointment to my C..clan, and N..Naruto.' Her final words fell to a whisper. Fresh tears fell from her eyes as her thoughts turned towards one of the few things in her life that brought her unbridled joy.

**"I see. His opinion of you matters much then it would seem."**

'Y..yes. H..he's al..always c..cared f..for me. H..he b..believes in me.' Once again, her final words were whispered.

**"Yes. He does. The important question though is...do you believe in Naruto? Do you believe in yourself?"**

Hinata blinked. 'W..what do you m..mean?'

**"Do you trust Naruto?"**

'Yes.' She whispered softly.

**"Really? You don't sound very sure about that."** The voice had an amused tone to it.

Hinata replied with a shout, 'I do! W..with all m..my heart!'

**"That's better. So then, you love him, yes?"** Hinata's response was a blush...and silence. The voice tittered.** "Don't be afraid child; be honest, be bold, and believe in him. This will be your best chance to show him the Hinata you've hidden away from the world, and from him. Stop lying to yourself; stop hiding the Hinata that is truly you."**

Hinata shot to her feet and yelled hotly, 'I've never lied to Naruto!'

**"I didn't say that, child. I said that you've been lying to yourself."**

'I don't understand.' Hinata blinked in confusion.

**"And that is why you think you're weak, and regard your own worth so lightly."**

'I don't understand.' This time her words came out softly.

**"You will, child. You will."**

Hinata didn't know why, but she felt the voice begin to depart. 'NO! Don't leave me!'

The voice whispered in response, **"It's time child. Don't be afraid... and believe."**

Unbidden, tears began to fall again. 'NO! D...'

===30 Seconds Earlier, SGC Medical Unit No. 1===

Dr Fraiser watched as the glow surrounding the boy fade, as did the tendril embracing the girl. Confusion grew within her as she watched tears trickle down the girl's cheeks. Without warning, the girl shot upright, awake and flung her arms out.

She yelled out. "DON'T LEAVE ME!"

The boy in the other bed, to her total surprise woke up, blinked, and swiveled his head about, taking in the room's details. His eyes locked on the tearful girl in the next bed. With an ominous slowness, he turned his attention to her and the stunned staff. He sprang to his feet with startling ease, landing in the center of the bed.

The boy's distinctive blue eyes narrowed, full of menace. He growled out, "You made Hinata-chan cry."

Janet tried to speak, but her tongue refused to work. She opted to mash the Panic Button on the wall instead.

All hell broke loose in very short order.

===Meanwhile, back in SG1's Ready Room===

"Thank you, that's all you had to say." Jack replied. Then the base's general alert alarm went off.

A voice yelled over the PA system, "SECURITY TO MED UNIT ONE! Special Weapons Squad stand by!"

Jack glanced about the room, "Oh shit... what did that girl call him?"

"Narutokun... I think." Sam replied.

"I think it's just Naruto; he referred to her as chan, and she called him kun, those are Japanese terms of endearment, like friend or sir." Daniel explained.

Teal'c added, "I believe we should get to the Infirmary before anyone is hurt."

They rushed to the Infirmary; upon entering they saw that it was utterly trashed. On the far side of the room the girl with the indigo hair was standing behind the blonde boy. She was dressed as they found her, he had on a hospital gown instead of his shirt and jacket. The boy had one hand over his stomach where the wound was, the other held a weapon, a knife of some kind. In front of them were 20 copies of the blonde, all of them in an identical defensive stance to the one shielding the girl, who was obviously terrified.

Sam commented, "Look at her eyes... they're white."

"Weird." Jack looked at Janet. "What happened?"

Dr Fraiser backed up slowly towards Jack. "I had finished examining him; his injury wasn't as bad as you said. After we finished treating his wounds, the boy's body started to glow with some sort of energy field. He touched the girl with some of that orange energy..."

Sam interrupted. "How long was he... glowing?"

"A couple of minutes." Dr Fraiser replied. She shook her head as though to clear it. "Then the girl woke up in tears and started screaming. Then he woke up, and accused us of making her cry..."

Jack interrupted. "Did you?"

Dr Fraiser gave him a glare that caused him step back and give the no mas gesture. She snorted and continued, "Then he grabbed her off her bed while yelling something, and there were suddenly more of him... then they trashed the place to hell and gone. He didn't hurt any of us though."

"It was probably that Shadow clone thing... that's what he called it back on that planet. They're like solid holograms, but I have no idea how he does it." Daniel explained.

Sam added, "I don't know either. But whatever it is, it's incredibly advanced."

Daniel took a half-step forward. "Whoever they are, we have to help them, let me try talking to them." He continued walking towards them, stopping in front of the SP's. In a low voice, he asked the guards, "Please, lower your weapons."

"Where are we, and who are you?" The blond went into a more aggressive guard position as he spoke.

Daniel replied, "This is Earth. You were hurt and we brought you here to help you... I'm Daniel Jackson, what's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. We're in Earth Country? You don't look like Rock-nin and nobody here has a hitai-ite, so try again!" Naruto answered back... the anger in his voice growing.

Daniel straightened up, then noted the two head bands laying on a table by the bed; both had what looked like a leaf symbol on them. Thinking on the fly, he replied in Japanese, "_Please forgive me Uzumaki-san, we meant you no harm. We wish to help you return home, that is all. Please forgive us._" Daniel explained, and bowed low. "Everyone bow... do it." Daniel added, holding his bow.

Everyone bowed like Daniel, Jack mumbling something…

Every Naruto copy stood up in unison, obviously confused and scratched their heads with the hand holding the kunai. The original Naruto spoke, "Do you know what he said Hinata?"

Hinata nodded. "H..he's speaking th..the old language N..Naruto."

"So what did he say?" Naruto asked.

"To... f..forgive him, they just want to h..help us... and he called you, Uzumaki-san." Hinata answered back, then blushed and smiled.

Daniel looked up from his bow. "Um, this isn't Earth Country... wherever that is, this is the planet Earth. That big ring you saw earlier is a gate to other planets, we use it to explore them."

Naruto stiffened, clearly shocked by Daniel's explanation. "Another... planet...? You mean like, one of the stars in the sky?"

Daniel thought a moment. "Um... hai."

Naruto and Hinata both fainted; Naruto's clones vanished as he hit the floor.

Jack shrugged. "Well, that works. I guess."

"Now then, will someone please explain to me what's going on here?" General Hammond asked, stepping into the Medical Unit, flanked by a pair of heavily armed security guards.

===4:57 PM, Conference Room===

"So you don't know the... address, of my... world, and we're stuck here until you can find it?" Naruto asked, looking calmer than he felt. He was dressed in a baggy blue sweat suit; the clothes he had been wearing were being repaired and cleaned.

"I'm afraid so son..." General Hammond replied, feeling bad for the two kids.

"Baa-chan will kill me when she sees me again." Naruto muttered and put his head on his arms, crossed on the table.

"Baa-chan?" Jack asked.

Daniel explained, "Uh, basically it means grandmother... or granny. The dialect is a little odd, I haven't been able to discern the time and region it comes from."

General Hammond asked, "Won't she be happy to see you alive?"

Naruto raised his head and laughed half-heartedly. "You don't understand, I just call her that because it annoys her, she's not related to me, she's the Hokage."

"The Fire Shadow?" Daniel commented, confused by the odd, atypical terms.

"Hai, Daniel-san. We're from Konoha, The Village Hidden in the Leaves; the hidden shinobi village of Fire Country." Hinata replied, neither she nor Naruto hadn't told them anything that wasn't common knowledge... at least to them.

Daniel asked, "So the…Hokage, is the ruler of Fire Country?" Naruto nodded in response.

Hinata spoke up. "Actually, the Hokage is the military leader of Fire Country." Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment at his incorrect answer.

Daniel continued, "You had mentioned elements earlier... so are there other countries based on the elements, water, earth, and wind?"

"And Lightning Country." Naruto added. "Fire Country is the strongest of the five Elemental Nations and has the strongest ninja!" He announced proudly.

Daniel asked, "So if each nation has a ninja village led by a... Kage, is there a Daimyo for each nation too?"

"Hai." Hinata responded, her stuttering mostly under control because she was near Naruto. And none of these people were ninjas, so they could easily escape if they needed to (all that, and the conversation she had remembered with the voice). Civilians were no match for shinobi, even if they were still Genin; mainly because the Chuunin Exams had been halted because of Orochimaru's invasion.

She still felt that Naruto should have been made Chuunin for what he had done during the attack on Konoha. And despite how strange this place was... and the people, she was growing to like them, and could tell that they were without malice or anger. She wasn't the best at reading people, but even she could sense that much from them.

"So you kids are ninjas huh?" Jack asked.

"The best!" Naruto exclaimed proudly, and a little louder than he should of. "Well, in our class anyway." He blinked in surprise. "Don't you have ninja here?"

"Sure, but they can't do what you do... wait, class? So you went to school to learn how to be ninjas?" Jack asked.

Naruto replied with a grin. "You got it!"

"That's so cool." Jack replied.

Dr Fraiser asked, "Excuse me, uh..Hinata. I don't want to be rude... but why are your eyes white, is that normal for you?"

"Hinata is a Hyuuga, they're all like that." Naruto explained.

"I'm from one of the Clans that helped found Konoha." Hinata added meekly, just loud enough to be heard.

"Yeah, that's her Bloodline-Limit, it's really cool!" Naruto explained, then felt Hinata nudge him sharply in the ribs. He gritted his teeth. Naruto flinched at the frown Hinata gave him. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you that. Can we talk alone for a minute, please?"

'_Stay calm, just because you'll be alone with Naruto-kun doesn't mean anything, stay calm, remember you're a kunoichi and a Hyuuga, in a strange place; that's what he wants to talk about._' Hinata thought.

Daniel offered, "I'll take 'em sir."

After the three of them left, and the door shut, Hammond glanced at everyone. "They seem like nice enough kids. Opinions... anyone?

Dr Fraiser recalled the incident in the Infirmary. "Perhaps, but I urge caution... the boy isn't what he seems to be. However, the girl seems to have a fair amount of influence over him... which is good. My advice: don't lie or... unpleasantly surprise them."

Jack grinned. "I think it would be kinda cool to have ninjas hanging around."

Sam snorted and rolled her eyes. "You watch way too many of those cheesy movies."

===2 minutes Later===

Naruto asked, "What do you think Hinata; they seem like nice people... should we trust 'em? We'll need help to get home, and they seem like good people... kinda weird, but nice. Well, that Teal'c guy is kinda scary."

Hinata nodded. "H..he is... but, I think you're right about t..them. They're strange, but they don't want to hurt us, and so far they h..haven't lied to us, I can tell."

Naruto replied, "You can? Wow... you really are good. Me, I don't get any creepy feelings from them like I did those Sound guys at the Chuunin Exams. I kinda like the idea; we could learn a bunch of new stuff, maybe even come up with our own jutsu! But I don't have anyone to go back to... well, old man Ichiraku and Ayame-chan will miss me, and Baa-chan too, but you have a real family that..."

"T..they won't miss me... they, t..think I'm weak. I'd rather stay here... w..with you Naruto-kun." Hinata answered nervously.

"Really? If you really don't think they'll miss you... I don't know why? Neji might since I got that stick out of his butt, if we ever get back I'm gonna kick your dad's butt like I did Neji's and make him see how strong you are, and that's a promise!" Naruto exclaimed fiercely.

Hinata was shocked for a moment that he would say that, then quickly wiped a tear of happiness from her right eye, smiling proudly that he would do that for her.

Hinata recalled her conversation with the voice. She thought, '_He does believe in me._'

===7 Minutes Later, SGC Medical Unit No. 2===

"Oh that... I've always healed fast. Besides, that was nothing; I've been hurt worse while training." Naruto replied, then his stomach growled... very loudly.

Dr Fraiser gave Naruto a motherly smile. "I'll want to do a full examination later, but right now I think you should get something to eat."

"I'll take him to the cafeteria." Jack offered.

"Do you guys have ramen here?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Hinata giggled quietly at his question.

Jack smiled. "That's those squiggly noodles in the bags right?"

Daniel nodded. "Right. But that's instant ramen Jack." He added, "Sorry Naruto, we don't have anything like that here."

Naruto got really excited when they talked about what he knew was instant ramen, just like he bought at the store, but his face fell when he heard they didn't have any. "NOOOOOOOO!" Naruto yelled out sadly as he fell to his knees, his hands raised.

Jack burst out laughing.

"So I take it you like ramen?" Daniel asked, smirking.

Naruto replied, "Its nature's perfect food! The best ramen in the whole world is at Ichiraku's Ramen stand."

Jack thought for a moment. "Spaghetti might do, I think you'd like it."

Naruto asked, his curiousity roused, "What's... spaghetti?"

Jack replied, "It's... Italian ramen. Come on, I'll get you some." Jack left with Naruto, Teal'c following them.

"Um... would you m..mind leaving p..please... I c..can't do this with..." Hinata asked nervously and paused, looking around.

"Ah, I'll go join them for dinner. I'll see you later Hinata." Daniel replied, then left.

Dr Fraiser announced, "Okay, all men out... now! Sam, pull the curtain please."

Hinata waited a moment for them to do what she had asked, then smiled slightly. "Thank you Fraiser-san."

"Please, just call me Dr Fraiser." She answered with a warm smile.

"Hai... thank you." Hinata replied and relaxed, there was something very motherly about the red haired woman that she liked; she reminded her of Kurenai-sensei.

"Okay Hinata, we're alone. If you'll remove your clothes we'll run a few tests, and get a blood sample..." Dr Fraiser said.

"Blood sample?" Hinata almost yelled.

Dr Fraiser asked, "What's wrong, Hinata? It's a standard procedure to test for any diseases you may have."

"I can't let you do t..that, you'll steal it." Hinata explained, with unusual (for her) firmness.

"Steal what?" Dr Fraiser asked, confused by Hinata's objection.

"The s..secrets of the... Byakuugan." Hinata replied nervously.

Dr Fraiser was confused a moment. "Ah, that's what you call your eyes, right? The special ability of your Clan?"

Hinata nodded. "I'd be disgraced and executed if I let our Clan's greatest t..treasure fall into enemy hands. Please... don't try to t..take a blood sample... I, I d..don't want to have to hurt you."

Sam saw the fear, and worry in Hinata's face. "Janet, can I talk to you a moment."

"I'll be right back Hinata, please relax, I won't do anything you don't want me to." Dr Fraiser explained, then followed Sam through the curtains.

===Cafeteria===

Jack watched, still stunned, as Naruto was wolfing down his second heaping plate of spaghetti, covered with mushroom and meat sauce. "Naruto... do you always eat this much?"

Naruto looked up, slurped down the noodles hanging from his mouth and wiped his face with a napkin. "Uh yeah, I usually have five or six bowls of ramen after a mission, or hard training; this spaghetti is almost as good." He looked up from his plate. "I don't have to pay for this do I?"

Jack responded. "No no, I'm buying." He mentally added. '_Thank God the boy doesn't know that SGC personnel eat here for free_'... he imagined a stack of plates, ten high.

Naruto replied, "Good, it's just that I haven't eaten all day, and big fights make me extra hungry anyway, plus I've used up a lot of chakra and..."

Daniel interrupted. "Chakra?"

"Yeah, it's what I do jutsu with; I'm not much of a ninja without jutsu." Naruto explained, eagerly chasing the last meatball around his plate.

Jack asked, "Is that how you made those copies and that blue ball thing?"

"That's my Shadow Clone Jutsu... and the other one is the Rasengan that Jiraiya-sensei taught me." Naruto answered proudly. He got tired of trying to use the fork thingie properly (as Jack had shown him) and speared the errant meatball.

Daniel asked, "Can you tell us about chakra?"

"I guess so... I mean, it isn't a big secret or anything." Naruto replied, and popped the remaining meatball into his mouth.

===SGC Medical Unit No. 2===

Dr Fraiser and Sam passed through a small gap in the curtains where Hinata was still sitting. Janet closed the curtains and asked, "Hinata, you have doctors on your world, right?"

Finally calm again, Hinata replied, "Hai... regular doctors, and medical ninja."

Sam saw Janet's eyes light up for just a moment at the mention of medical ninja. "You can discuss that later Janet." Sam added with a smirk.

Janet nodded and asked, "Hinata, I know you don't fully trust me, but do your doctors have an oath or rule about doctor-patient privacy?"

Hinata thought for a moment and nodded. "Hai, each Clan has their own doctors, but sometimes we have to stay at the hospital to get special care; there are doctors from outside the Clans that know how to treat us, and keep what they know a secret."

"We have similar rules. I am in charge here, and even though I don't know how long you'll be here, I want you to trust me. I give you my word as a doctor that I will keep all your medical information in my personal files. No one will see them but me, Sam, and my most trusted nurses who may have to help me if you're injured, badly or otherwise. If any blood samples are taken, no one will have access to them but me, if you feel I've betrayed you..." Dr Fraiser said and let out a sigh. "You can kill me; I'm guessing you could do it rather easily."

Hinata nodded slowly. Hinata saw it on her face, her body language, and heard it in her voice; she really meant it. She glanced at Sam; the blonde woman looked nervous and obviously didn't like what the red-haired woman had said, but they were clearly friends, and she was going along with her position. Hinata asked, "Will you do the same for N..Naruto-kun?"

"You like him don't you?" Dr Fraiser asked and saw Hinata immediately shake her head no, but the intense blush on her face said otherwise. "I will, I promise."

Hinata replied, "Naruto never breaks a p..promise... he'd r..rather die."

Sam and Dr Fraiser glanced at each other at this insight concerning the blonde boy. "We won't either Hinata. This base we're in, is one of the most secret places in the world. You have to be checked and cleared by a dozen people just to sweep the floors here. You have our word; we won't share your secrets with anyone. We just want to be friends, and help you." Dr Fraiser answered sincerely.

She knew in her heart what her father, and the Elders would say, but they weren't here, they weren't even on this planet. "Hai." Hinata replied, and sighed nervously as she unzipped her coat and opened it to take it off. She saw their reactions as she removed it.

Dr Fraiser asked, "Hinata... how old are you?"

Hinata answered nervously, "I'm thirteen. On my world when you b..become a ninja or kunoichi... you legally become an adult. Please, don't t..tell Naruto I... I'm different; he'll think I'm weird."

Sam and Dr Fraiser replied together. "I promise."

===9:30 PM, General Hammond's Office===

The Security Commander respectfully laid the cassette on Hammond's desk. "Here's the video tape you requested, General."

"Thank you, Captain." Hammond took the tape and placed it a desk drawer and locked it. "Just so there's no misunderstanding, the contents of this tape, and today's events are now officially classified as Top Secret. There is to be absolutely no discussion of the events that occurred in Medical Unit 1, or our new guests." He looked the young Captain dead in the eye. "Any questions?"

The Captain standing before his desk came to attention. "No sir."

General Hammond nodded approvingly. "That will be all. Dismissed."

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End Chapter 1


	2. New Friends, New Life

NinjaGate

New Friends, New Life

By: MikeJV37

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Author's Note: On Feb 25, 2012, this chapter was re-edited, and new material was added to the end.

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===March 24, 8:00 AM, Stargate Command, Conference Room===

General Hammond looked around the table at SG1 and Dr Fraiser; their 2 guests were in their rooms awaiting the end of this meeting. "Okay people, give me some clarity to this mess I've got on my hands."

"I'll go first, sir." Dr Fraiser responded. She had two folders in front of her. "Both of them are thirteen years old and despite a few... remarkable abilities, both are in excellent health."

Hammond stirred in his chair. "What kind of abilities?"

"I'll start with the girl, Hinata Hyuuga. She's from one of the senior Clans of her... Hidden Village, as they call it. The clan consists of about three hundred people, composed of many family groups, all of them with the same ability. The clan itself is divided into a Main Branch, and the Cadet Branch..." Dr Fraiser explained.

Daniel pondered that for a moment. "Like a caste system?"

Dr Fraiser nodded in response. "Yes. Hinata is the oldest of two children from the Main Branch, her father is the head of the Hyuuga Clan, making her essentially royalty. This is what's so fascinating; their special ability, also called a Bloodline-Limit or kekkei genkai, is their eyes, giving them what is referred to by them as a Doujutsu. They call it the Byakuugan, and from the tests I ran yesterday, it has three basic abilities that they've managed to combine together."

Dr Fraiser paused as she flipped open a medical file. "Their eyes are basically like ours, but she has an additional white lens layered atop the normal optical structure. She won't give me any specifics, but when she activates her special vision with what they call chakra, she has what's essentially x-ray vision and she can see in _all_ directions at once." Dr Fraiser added, noting her teammates reaction to that bit of information.

Dr Fraiser dropped the final reveal of her research. "With that special ability activated, she sees what she refers to as chakra coils, that's where chakra originates from, as well as all the various chakra points that are within the human body. They're referred to on her world as tenketsu points, and apparently everyone has them, even us, though ours aren't as well developed."

Jack asked, "That's pretty cool, so... could she be looking at us now?"

Dr Fraiser paused and closed her notebook. "Perhaps... or at the very least I wouldn't rule out the possibility."

Sam added, "It's incredible sir. And, you can tell when she uses it."

"How?" Gen Hammond asked with a curious frown.

Sam explained by pointing to her own temples. "The blood vessels around her eyes noticeably enlarge; it's actually kinda creepy the first time you see it."

"Oh, and she's rather shy because of various family issues, but she wouldn't offer any further details." Dr. Fraiser added.

"And the boy... Naruto?" Gen Hammond asked, leaning forward in his chair.

Dr Fraiser replied, "Well sir, Naruto is even more remarkable, but he wouldn't tell me anything beyond generalities. He explained that his rapid healing was... natural for him, but he's obviously hiding something. And, by the way he dodges my questions, it must be very important."

She paused for a moment as she opened a different medical file. "He has a healing ability greater than anything I've ever seen. If what he told me was the truth... he usually recovers from injuries in a few days. Injuries, in my opinion, that would kill any Goa'uld instantly, and without any scaring whatsoever. Physically he's in better shape than any of us, and he says he's never been sick a day in his life."

Janet paused to refocus on what she was about to say, "He doesn't have any known family, and has lived on his own in an apartment since he was five." Dr Fraiser closed the file and added, "Other than that, he's a normal energetic teenager."

Gen Hammond frowned at the gaps in Dr Fraiser's presentation. "What about the incident in the Infirmary?"

Dr Fraiser simply shrugged. "I questioned him about the nature of the energy that encased his body and that... other matter." She paused with a sigh. "Up until now I'd never witnessed someone look dumb-struck and disbelieving in one breath, and then play stupid with the next breath." Janet closed the medical before her. "He totally stonewalled me on the matter."

Gen Hammond shook his head. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised."

Daniel tapped a old-looking leather bound book. "Well, they _are_ ninja. And like their variant here on Earth, they live in the shadows; to do otherwise would lead to a very short existence. Keeping secrets would be second nature to them."

Jack leaned back in his chair and looked at Daniel. "I don't know if that totally applies here. Based on Dr Fraiser's observations, even Naruto didn't believe, or perhaps... understand, what she had seen." Jack paused in thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Didn't you show him the..."

Gen Hammond raised his hand and interrupted Jack. "The video tape of that incident has been sealed, and I might add, outside of this room the matter is _not to be discussed_. Those are my orders, and they come from upstairs. Does everyone understand?" The tone in Hammond's voice was absolute.

After a muted chorus of, yes sir, he continued in a softer tone of voice. "I'm not saying the matter is closed, but it does join the ranks of things here at SGC that is not to be discussed openly. I think we all know the drill here. I don't want to hinder debate or discussion on the matter, but this _is_ to be considered one of our closer secrets. Now then, please continue."

Jack nodded. "Now then, as I was saying, I trust Dr Fraiser's powers of observation, and might add, her capacity for insight." He shot her a smile that she returned. "Whatever happened in the Infirmary apparently caught Naruto by surprise as well. I don't think it would be a good idea to press him on this, especially since we're still in the establishing trust phase of things." Jack noted Daniel eyeing him oddly. He stared back. "What is it? Did I suddenly grow bunny ears or something?"

"You were just thoughtful, considerate and insightful all in the same breath." Daniel looked at him with a poorly concealed smirk. "Who are you? And what did you do with Colonel O'Neill?"

Jack smirked back. "It's a secret. I have a rep to maintain after all."

General Hammond cleared his throat. "Focus people. Dr Fraiser, was there anything else you wanted to add?"

"Just this: whatever it was, it didn't appear to be inherently harmful. None of the bio sensors or EM detectors in the med unit went off, and none of the alarms were triggered. We know that it wasn't anything on the upper, mid or lower EM radiation spectrum. And, no one was harmed by whatever it was, nor suffered any adverse effects from it."

Dr Fraiser took a deep breath. "I saw it do only _one_ thing; it reached out to Hinata, and it touched her in a totally non-threatening fashion. My educated guess: it's an integral part of Naruto and I suppose it could have been a manifestation of chakra, but beyond that... I'd just be guessing." Dr Fraiser leaned back and crossed her arms, still amazed by what she had witnessed, along with half her staff.

Sam spoke up. "I agree with Dr Fraiser, General. And I might add, I've had enough contact with the both of them to know that, putting the fact that they're ninjas aside, they're decent enough kids. After all, it's not like they're bloodthirsty psycho-killers."

(At this point I could put in the obligatory 'Gaara sneezes' moment... but he's gotten better... honestly he has. However, there _was_ a mass sneeze at Akatsuki HQ.)

Daniel added, "I agree with Sam's assessment of Naruto and Hinata. Heaven knows we've run into far more dubious people on the other side of our Stargate." Teal'c nodded in agreement as well.

Gen Hammond leaned back in his chair. "All that being said, I'll remind you again that the incident involving Naruto, and our two newest guests in particular are now classified as Top Secret, and _any_ access is Need-to-Know only."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "And how is that different from all the other things around here?" General Hammond responded with a cold stare. Daniel hid behind the book he was holding. "Okay sir, I get it."

Jack mulled over the give and take of his team members. He knew, for all their talent, experience, and brains sitting around this table, they were dealing with something that only he had even the slightest grasp of, and only by virtue of one of his past career choices. A past that he was not free to talk about for the most part, save for vague colorful yarns. No, this was a matter outside their collective experiences.

Perhaps a private talk with Gen Hammond was in order.

Gen Hammond asked, "So then, what about their abilities? Naruto can make copies of himself, and create a ball of energy that can destroy things. What about Hinata, what can she do?"

Sam replied, "General Hammond, I'm sure they'd both be glad to show us. From what Hinata has told me, Naruto likes to show off. And both of them have stated plainly that they'd tell us more about chakra... although I think Hinata will be more helpful since she's apparently had more training, and was a better student; one of the top girls in her class in fact."

Gen Hammond looked at the clock on the wall. "Okay, tell them to be ready at 0930 for a demonstration; a full briefing on chakra; and, a demonstration of these abilities of theirs."

Sam added, "Jutsu, sir. That's what they call the techniques they do."

"Thank you." Gen Hammond nodded and scribbled some more notes on his memo pad.

Sam replied with a smile, "You're welcome sir."

Gen Hammond announced, "Dismissed." All of SG1 exited the room, save one.

Jack asked, "Could I have a moment of your time, sir?"

"Do we have time for this, Colonel?" Gen Hammond replied, glancing at the wall clock.

"This will just take a few minutes sir." Jack pulled out notebook and pen; he wrote down two names, tore the sheet out and laid it down on the conference table. "I'd like your permission to contact these people. I believe they could be helpful with our guests." Jack took a step back and assumed the position of attention.

The gesture was not lost on Hammond. He picked up the slip of paper and looked at the names. "Am I to assume these people are connected to your earlier career path?"

"Yes sir, I know these people. And, they could be helpful to us." Jack replied and smiled.

Gen Hammond looked over the names a second time. "How so?"

"Daniel is correct concerning his insight about Naruto and Hinata; they come from a world...a world of shadows. Those two men come from _our_ world of shadows. It is my professional opinion that they may be of assistance to us."

Gen Hammond looked at the names again and gave O'Neill a thin smile. "After I research these names, I'll give you an answer, Colonel."

Jack smiled affably. "That's all I ask for, sir."

Gen Hammond nodded in accord. "Fair enough." He pocketed the slip of paper and glanced at the door. "You'd better get going Jack. I'm guessing that the rest of your team are lurking nearby, wondering why you're having a private talk with me. Dismissed."

Jack gave Hammond a sharp salute. "Yes sir." He exited the room and smiled as he noted his companions hanging out by a bank of vending machines, trying to look disinterested.

===9:30 AM, Gymnasium B===

All of SG1, Gen Hammond, and their two newest guests were gathered near the center of one the base's smaller exercise centers; a quartet of SP's stationed outside the entrance insuring their privacy. All along the walls were lockers, weight racks, various bins of exercise paraphernalia, and steel stacking chairs.

"Hinata, would you please go first." Sam asked with a reassuring smile.

"I... okay, if you want me to." Hinata replied, still a little nervous, walked to the center of what she figured were training mats, then turned to face everyone. "What should I do first?"

Naruto took the opportunity to take a few stealthy side-steps to the right, moving away from the small group.

Sam asked with a friendly smile, "You're a ninja, right... a kunoichi?"

Hinata nodded. "Hai, that's the proper term."

Sam smiled reassuringly. "Okay, if you went to a school to learn how to be a kunoichi, they must have a set of basic skills that everyone is taught, how about showing us those."

"Alright... there are three jutsus that everyone has to learn to graduate; the Bunshin, the Kawarimi, and the Henge." Hinata explained.

Jack asked, "What's a, boo shun?"

Hinata giggled briefly, concealing her smile with a raised hand. Naruto laughed loudly.

Daniel commented. "I think the Bunshin is an illusion... right?"

"Hai, Daniel-san. The Bunshin is an illusion. The Kawarimi is a body substitution, it's used for switching places with an object about the same size as yourself. The better you become at using it, the smaller the object you can switch with." Hinata pointed to a couple different objects in the gym as examples.

Hinata took a deep breath, set her feet and continued. "The Henge, which is a physical transformation, is for changing your appearance. It's typically used to impersonate someone; or, to disguise your own appearance. However, it can mimic anything you've seen, or have a clear mental picture of." Hinata explained, then glanced around a moment. Hinata announced, "I'll do the Bunshin first."

Hinata executed the proper hand signs. "BUNSHIN!" Three exact copies of Hinata appeared out of the smoke; the duplicates moved to form a line to her right.

Jack shook his head in amazement. "Wow, now _that's_ cool."

Sam walked up, and making sure it wasn't the original Hinata, put her hand through one of the copy's shoulders... it vanished without a sound. "Incredible! It looked just like you. But why did it disappear when I touched it?"

"They're only meant to be used as a distraction, any attack will dispel them. They'll fool civilians and most Genin, but any Jonin and most Chuunin can tell they're illusions, or simply feel the chakra being used to maintain them. It's an E-Rank jutsu that everyone is taught; the jutsu isn't a secret." Hinata replied and then dispelled the copies of herself.

Sam asked, "So, is what you did an advanced version, Naruto?"

"Hai, I kinda learned it by accident... I was tricked into taking the scroll the jutsu was written in." Naruto answered with a frown, still a little embarrassed about the incident, and rubbed the back of his head. He added proudly, "But mine is the Kage Bunshin, a Shadow Clone jutsu; it's a B-Rank jutsu."

Sam replied, "B-Ranked... so there are different levels?"

Hinata answered, "Hai. E-Ranked are the basic, general-use jutsu that everyone knows; then comes the D-Rank ones, they're the basic jutsus usually taught to new Genin, they tend to vary by Country. Then there's the C-Rank jutsu that are harder to use... they require much more chakra to power them. Most Genin know only one, sometimes two, if they're from a Clan like mine. They are the level of jutsu most Chuunin use; they're shinobi that are the next rank up from Genin."

Seeing them nod in understanding, Hinata continued. "B-Rank jutsus are the higher level ones that most Special Jonin, and Jonin use. Only the strongest shinobi can use them. Then there are the A-Rank jutsus, they're dangerous, and very high level jutsus that only Jonin, and Kage use. The S-Rank ones are the forbidden jutsus that usually a Kage knows, and perhaps a few select Jonin."

Sam nodded, absorbing and processing everything Hinata said.

Hinata added, "Our missions have the same ranking system based on how dangerous the mission is; they range from D to S. New Genin teams get D-Rank missions for a while, usually running errands for people, clearing fields, those sorts of things…"

Naruto just stared at Hinata, stunned, but very impressed.

"Sounds just like the military." Jack responded with a thoughtful look on his face.

Daniel replied, "In a way it is."

Naruto exclaimed, "I _hate_ D-Rank missions, they are so _BORING!_" Hinata giggled as Naruto waved his arms in annoyance.

Gen Hammond commented with a tiny grin, "We're getting off track people."

"Sorry sir, please continue Hinata." Sam replied, still smiling at Naruto's comment.

Hinata asked, "Ano... does anyone have something they could throw?"

"Oh yeah, just a sec," Jack replied, and ran over to a small basket hanging on the wall. He grabbed one of its contents and came back. "This racquetball should work."

"I'll back up, and someone throw it at me as hard as you can." Hinata asked and stepped backwards another 15'.

Jack tossed the ball to Teal'c. "Here ya go big guy, you do it, I have a bad shoulder... fishing accident." Jack apologized with a sly smile.

Teal'c replied in his usual tone. "Indeed."

"A fishing accident?" Naruto asked, a big smirk on his face at the obvious lie.

"Hey, it was a really big fish." Jack explained with a serious tone... and a smile.

Hinata was trying not to giggle; she knew he was lying too. She announced, "I'm ready."

Teal'c nodded and threw the ball at Hinata far harder than anyone else there could.

Naruto watched the big dark-skinned guy called Teal'c throw the blue ball at Hinata, knowing what she was going to do. Before it hit, he saw her hand move; there was a puff of smoke, and Hinata was instantly replaced with a nearby trash can.

What he didn't expect is what happened next: there was an metallic bang as the ball bounced off the can at considerable speed. Then the ball flew off in a totally new direction... straight at the blonde woman called Sam, and smashed into her right breast with a muted thump.

Sam yelled in pain and clutched her breast with both hands, moaning quietly and bent forward a little.

Hinata looked properly mortified.

Naruto turned red a moment, and then fell to the floor with hysterical laughter.

General Hammond eyebrows shot up as he glanced at Sam.

Jack and Daniel were suddenly red-faced, and staring at the ceiling.

Teal'c, stone-faced, simply raised an eyebrow.

Hinata ran straight over to Sam; she asked, "I can help her, can we be alone somewhere?"

Sam declared, "I'll be fine, really, you don't have to..."

Hinata replied softly, "I insist, please. This is my fault; let me heal you."

"Okay. Follow me." Sam replied, holding back the pain and her tears. She led Hinata into the women's locker room.

===Women's Locker Room===

Sam sat on a bench in front of her. "Please, take off your shirt... I have a salve that will heal you." Hinata said.

Sam hesitated for a long moment, but the healing salve Hinata mentioned had her interest, especially if it was as fast and effective as she was expecting. She pulled her shirt up and off, dropping it on the bench, revealing her gray sports bra. She glanced at Hinata for her reaction, and then continued. Sam sighed then pulled her sports bra up and off, fully exposing her full, semi-firm, D cup breasts with 3" light brown areolas and soft, marble-sized nipples. Looking down she winced, a circular bruise from the ball's impact was already forming, just below the nipple.

Hinata took the small circular tin from her pouch, popped off the lid and scooped out a small amount with her fingers. "This will feel a little cold." Hinata said gently. She saw Sam nod, and only paused a moment before gently rubbing it onto the bruise, applying some chakra to speed up the healing effect. "It doesn't need it... but I'm adding a small amount of chakra to help it work better."

Sam jumped slightly when the cool salve touched her breast, and then sighed softly as Hinata rubbed it into her entire breast; it felt wonderful. "It smells like... flowers." Sam commented aloud.

Hinata smiled and waited a few minutes; both of them watched as the bruise completely faded away.

Sam touched her breast lightly and asked, "Wow, that's incredible! Does everyone have that?" She was completely amazed that not only was the pain gone, but so was the bruise.

"N..no... I made it myself from plants found around Konoha." Hinata replied, slightly embarrassed.

She gave her breast a test squeeze, any sensation of pain was completely gone. "Janet would _love_ to have some of that to analyze." Sam smiled and put her sports bra back on.

Hinata asked, "Janet?"

"Dr. Fraiser, helping people is her life. Does this work on any small injury?" Sam replied eagerly.

"Hai... bruises, small cuts and abrasions, even minor burns." Hinata explained as Sam put on her t-shirt. "M..may I ask you something, personal?"

"Uh, sure Hinata... anything." Sam replied calmly, but hoping that it wasn't about her subtle reaction as Hinata was gently, but innocently, squeezing her breast to work in the salve.

Hinata asked nervously, "Is that the first time you've been hit... _there?_"

Sam's eyebrows rose slightly. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" Sam asked and Hinata nodded in response. "No it isn't. In high school and college I got in quite a few... physical confrontations shall we say, with a few other girls. I wasn't just the smartest girl around, but I also had these when I was your age." She cupped both her breasts and gave them a slight jiggle. "I was one of the first girls in my age group to get a chest."

Hinata nodded, she understood the, get a chest part, all too well.

"I lost my first few, private, fights until I figured out why I was losing; then after that, whether the other girl was smaller, or bigger and stronger than I was, or had smaller, or bigger breasts... when I got them where I wanted them, they were finished." Sam said then smirked briefly, she hadn't even thought of her Carter Crippler maneuver in years.

"Once word got out amongst the girls, they left me alone. I didn't date much though, in fact hardly at all, I was too busy with my schoolwork and I hid my figure anyway. Why, is there a girl causing you trouble?" Sam asked with a knowing look. She could still see their faces, they never figured out how her simple grip hurt them there so badly.

"No... Well, not directly. Naruto-kun has a crush on her and even though she likes someone else who betrayed the village, Naruto still likes her... and I'm too shy to tell Naruto-kun I like him." Hinata explained, staring at the floor.

"Tell me about her and maybe I can help you with both your problems." Sam offered, and smiled knowingly. "I'll make time for you later on and we'll have some girl talk. Okay?"

Hinata gave a small smile in reply and nodded.

===10 Minutes Later===

"I apologize Major Carter, I didn't intend..." Teal'c spoke with a tone of regret.

"It's okay Teal'c, I'm fine." Sam interrupted, knowing he was being sincere. "And I better not hear even a giggle... it hit my shoulder, _understood?_" Sam loudly announced, glaring at everyone.

Teal'c replied calmly, "Understood." Daniel nodded in agreement.

"Shoulder, got it." Jack added with a vigorous nod.

Naruto put on his best, I'm innocent face, and clasped his hands behind his back, saying nothing. He learned the hard way from Sakura and Tsunade, that you don't provoke an angry woman. He might not be book smart, but he was life smart.

"That's what I saw." General Hammond added, as calm as always. He had been married, had a grown daughter and 2 grand daughters almost Hinata's age, he knew the rules. "So what did she do, and are you still hurt?"

Sam explained, "She used an herbal salve she made herself, and the bruise healed in no time. It was incredible."

Hammond interjected, "Good. Now... I believe there was one thing more to show us."

Naruto asked excitedly, "Can I show 'em this one Hinata?" Hinata nodded and walked over to him. Naruto whispered, "It was really funny, but I won't tell anyone where she got hit, I promise."

"Thank you Naruto." Hinata replied quietly, then moved to the sidelines watching Naruto a moment, obviously thinking about what he was about to do, when she saw a familiar smile on his face. "No, not _that_ Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed softly, afraid to raise her voice. So she did the only thing she could... she shut her eyes as she awaited those familiar words.

It was common knowledge amongst their friends, that it was considered a waste of chakra, or totally perverted. Honestly though, she thought it was clever, and actually pretty funny, though she would NEVER let anyone know that.

"SEXY JUTSU!" Naruto announced proudly, and then there was a large puff of smoke.

Hinata just had to peek and see everyone's reaction to Naruto's anti-pervert jutsu. Daniel was stunned, Sam was more shocked than anything else, but she was also blushing a little, and just for a second shifted her hips left then right, her thighs rubbing together. Teal'c hardly reacted at all, and Jack, almost reacted like she'd heard Jiraiya did when Naruto was trying to get the Sannin to teach him during the month break before the finals. General Hammond just blushed.

Naruto's appearance was exactly what she expected: 5'10", blonde hair in twin pigtails down to her knees, looking about 16, with what were at least E cup breasts, and with just enough smoke swirling about her to hide her nipples, as well as her crotch, striking a sexy pose. After several seconds there was a second puff of smoke and a fully-clothed male Naruto was back, sporting his best foxy grin.

Naruto explained, "That was my sexy jutsu; I created it to use on old perverts, knocks 'em out every time!"

"That was...? Daniel? Sam?" Jack asked, rubbing his eyes.

Daniel vaguely shrugged, his brain still processing what he'd just seen.

"That wasn't an illusion, was it?" Sam asked, doing her best to stay focused.

"Nope, I really changed into a girl... hmm, maybe I should have done the swim-suit version, then you could have checked." Naruto replied, his face scrunching up a little as he began thinking.

"NO!" They all yelled in unison when Naruto started to make the hand sign again.

"That's okay Naruto, we believe you. What about the others you did?" Sam asked.

Naruto shrugged. "You mean my Shadow Clone jutsu and the Rasengan?"

"Yes, what can you tell us about them?" Sam asked, glad that he hadn't repeated that jutsu.

"Like we already told ya earlier, the Shadow Clone jutsu makes copies of me by dividing my chakra. Most Jonin can only make a few of them, even Kakashi-sensei can only make about a dozen I think... I can make hundreds of them." Naruto said proudly.

"_Hundreds_?" Jack commented with raised eyebrows.

"Yep... the most I ever did so far is about... three, maybe four hundred I think, I keep forgetting to count." Naruto replied with an annoyed frown.

A flash of insight hit her. Sam asked, "If you split your chakra evenly amongst the clones... and if they learn something... when they're destroyed, do you learn it too?"

"Huh?" Naruto gave Sam a puzzled stare, scratching his head.

Sam asked, "If I'm right, your chakra is your life energy right?"

"Well yeah, if ya run out completely you die, even _I_ know that much." Naruto replied with a lopsided smile.

Sam paused in thought and focused her next question. "So, if you made a Shadow Clone, sent it out to spy on an enemy camp and it was discovered and killed, would you get the information about the camp?"

"Umm... oh yeah. I remember now! Ji-san once told me that the jutsu was used mostly for scouting out enemy camps and bases." Naruto smiled to himself as he fondly recalled the elderly Sandaime.

Jack perked up when heard that tidbit of information.

Sam paused again, processing Naruto's reply. "Since you divide your chakra amongst the clones, then I'm assuming you get it back when they get destroyed, right?"

"I don't know... SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto activated the jutsu and a single clone appeared; it immediately approached Sam.

She leaned down and whispered something into the clone's ear. She looked up at Naruto. "Did you hear what I just told the clone?"

He shook his head. Naruto asked, "No. Want me to dispel it now?"

"Yes please." Sam replied, and a second later it vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto smiled as Sam's words came to him. "Yeah, I think clones are cool too, thanks..."

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened. He shouted, "IT WORKED! _AWESOME!_" Naruto started to cheer and jump about, punching the air; he suddenly stopped, giving everyone a big smile. "Maybe this works with training too; if it does, I could learn a new jutsu faster than anybody!" He added silently, '_Except for Sasuke and Kakashi, but they cheat_.'

"If it does it'd be exponential." Sam explained her usual way.

Naruto froze in confusion. "Ex pa-what?"

Jack laughed at the puzzled look on Naruto's face. "Get use to it Naruto; she does it to me all the time."

Naruto smiled and nodded, still a bit confused.

Sam sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I know... dumb it down." Sam added after a long moment of thought. "Exponential. If you added one clone to the task, besides yourself, it would cut the time in half. Let's say you wanted to master a new jutsu, but it would normally take you a year to do it. With you and one clone, then it would take you six months instead. Adding two more clones, plus yourself, would drop the time needed to three months. Basically, the more clones you use the less time it takes... _but_ I don't think you should use hundreds to do it."

Naruto asked, "Why not?"

Sam explained, "Since you gain the knowledge of a clone when it's dispelled... Well, if you try to get too much information at once, it could cause brain damage. The memories of hundreds of clones hitting you at a single moment could possibly kill you." Sam turned and shared a look with Dr Fraiser; she nodded at Sam in agreement. Sam turned back to Naruto. "We'll have to test you and find out what your limits are, and how the memory transfer works."

"So... you'd be training me?" Naruto asked, getting excited again.

Sam paused as she scribbled down some notes. "I guess you could look at it that way. Well it'd be me, and Dr Fraiser, since she'd need to monitor you; but you could call it Shadow Clone Training, since I'd be teaching you how to use it more efficiently."

Hinata spoke up, "Ano..." They all turned to face her. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I think it would be better if you learned about chakra first, then you could help us better."

Daniel agreed with a nod, "She's right. We can't teach Naruto to use jutsu effectively if we don't fully understand ourselves."

Gen Hammond muttered under his breath, "That _was_ one of the subjects I'd hoped we would cover today."

"Could we learn how to do that cool stuff too?" Jack asked with a hopeful look on his face.

Naruto just scratched his head, still confused over some of the words Sam had used.

Hinata tapped a finger against her chin. "I really don't know. We start training to mold chakra when we're quite young... I've _never_ heard of anyone... um." Hinata pondered aloud.

"Our age. It's okay Hinata, we don't mind." Sam offered the qualifier with a smile.

"Thank you Sam. I don't know about the people of your world, but we decide what we'll be as children. We either become shinobi, or civilians; but I'm guessing you do things here differently." Hinata added, still unsure about how things worked on Earth.

Sam nodded agreeably, "Yes, we start much later, and we have martial arts here too, what you call Taijutsu, I believe. And I might add, we can start learning it at _any _age, so we should be able to..."

She paused in thought. "We'll have to do some tests, and you'll have to help us with your... Byakuugan." Sam added, half asking at the end.

Hinata nodded and added a polite bow. "I'll try my best to help you all."

Jack added, "I'd love to see that rasan-thing again."

"Rasengan. I'd love to... but, I better not do it here, it tends to make a mess." Naruto replied and smiled at the memory of what it did to those trees.

Sam reassured Naruto."Don't worry, we'll think of something."

===Unknown Location===

The Jaffa entered the huge, half-lit room, walking across the polished stone floor quickly but as quietly as possible. He stopped in front of the throne, dropped to his right knee and bowed his head. "I have news."

The obviously female figure in the hooded black robe glanced down at her servant. "Speak."

He stood. "There was a small power surge throughout the Gate system earlier... I'm afraid we were unable to find the source, or where it originated from." He explained, slightly nervous.

"It's probably those Tau'ri meddling about like the little mice they are. Let the other System Lords deal with it, it is of little consequence to us. Leave me before I forgot you have some value." She answered dismissively.

The Jaffa bowed deeply. "Yes my Mistress." He replied, then turned and walked out slightly faster than he had entered.

x

End Chapter 2


	3. Leaves in the Wind

NinjaGate

Leaves in the Wind

By: MikeJV37

x

===March 26, 9:30 AM, Konoha, Hokage Tower===

Standing outside the door to Tsunade's office in the hallway, were two boys and an older girl.

"Oh come on, I'll do _anything_ if you make the report for me." Kiba asked again, this time... begging.

"Tempting, but no. We must report immediately." Shino replied calmly.

The girl commented idly, "I don't see what the problem is, ninja die and are lost all the time... besides, I'm the prisoner here." Her remark was rewarded with a joint growl by Kiba and Akamaru... she took the hint and shut up.

"Fine, let's get this over with... maybe we'll get lucky and she'll only break a couple of bones." Kiba grumbled, then opened the door and went in, followed by the girl, then Shino. Akamaru whimpered inside Kiba's coat and sunk out of sight.

Shizune looked up from her desk as the door opened and saw them come in, but the growing smile on her face froze when the door closed behind them. She didn't say anything as they approached her desk, but she did get very nervous. "Welcome back... _where's_ Naruto and Hinata?"

Shino replied with his trademark flat tone, "We need to see Tsunade-sama immediately."

Shizune, swallowing the lump in her throat, nodded and led them into the office, immediately taking her place at Tsunade's left side.

Glancing at the group before her, Tsunade saw Kiba, Shino, and an unknown brunette, obviously an enemy kunoichi by the way she was bound. What she didn't see were the other two Genin she had sent withthem. Tsunade asked calmly, "Where are Naruto and Hinata?"

Kiba swallowed nervously. "We don't know Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade's right eyebrow twitched and she clenched her jaw for a brief moment. "Excuse me? What do you mean you _don't_ know? Were they captured? Are they alive?" Tsunade asked, holding her emotions in check... for the moment.

"All we know is..." Kiba began telling her what they knew, and what they had learned from Suzumebachi. It went as he expected... Tsunade lost her temper, turned her desk into firewood, and Akamaru peed all over the inside of his coat.

Suzumebachi, watching all of this unfold, became as still as a stone and prayed the ranting crazy woman, who just smashed her desk with _one _finger, wouldn't notice her. She said to herself, '_Almighty Kami, the Tsuchikage wants to pick a fight with her?_'

Then she saw Tsunade's eyes lock onto _her_. "Oh shit..."

===Stargate Command, Gymnasium B===

Daniel smiled. "Gesundheit."

"Huh?" Naruto asked then sniffled and rubbed his nose.

Daniel replied, "It's something we say when someone sneezes."

A thoughtful look flashed across Naruto's face. "Oh... thanks, it beats getting hit with a live chicken."

Everyone looked at Naruto stunned, until Hinata started giggling.

"I'm kidding, it was joke... I saw it on that... TV, last night." Naruto explained, waving his arms.

Jack laughed hard. He could see, bit by bit, that Naruto was absorbing some of the odder elements of the new culture he found himself in.

Sam smirked, but inside was laughing her head off.

Daniel chuckled and thought, '_I thought he'd appreciate that style of humor_.'

"Most amusing Naruto." Teal'c commented with a slight eye smile.

Naruto pouted that his attempt at humor had gone astray. Via his new TV, he had discovered a show called The Three Stooges... Watching it, he had never laughed so hard in his life, especially after he realized that one of the stooges had the same hairstyle as Might Guy _and _Rock Lee.

Jack added, "Keep trying Naruto, you'll get him eventually."

"Can we continue now?" Dr Fraiser asked, doing her best to keep Naruto reined in... he hadn't tested positive for ADD, but there _were _moments when she wondered otherwise.

"Sorry Fraiser-sensei." Hinata apologized with a small bow.

"Who was first again?" Jack asked as he rubbed his chin.

Teal'c explained with a wave of his hand. "You, then me, Major Carter, and then Daniel Jackson."

"Lucky me... no offense Hinata." Jack gave a mock sigh and walked over to the wall.

Hinata gave Jack a understanding smile and nodded. She had finally gotten use to his odd brand of humor; in some ways, Jack reminded her more of Naruto during their Academy days. Over the last two days she had gradually adjusted to his style, and the different feel of their new home away from home.

The thing that struck her the most was the peculiar combination of watchfulness and warmth... the security here easily equaled some areas of Konoha, but it _never_ felt oppressive. She had come to appreciate being treated, notas the heiress of a great and powerful clan, but as a valued coworker, and a friend... especially her new best friend in this strange place, Major Samantha Carter, or Sam as she was called by her SG1 teammates.

Even so, with no one else from Konoha but Naruto around, she found comfort in her frequent talks with Sam. She was _FINALLY_ able to almost relax around Naruto-kun... LIKE A NORMAL GIRL! (Well... at least normal for a kunoichi) She loved it, and found herself wishing for it to never end. And best of all, Naruto not only NEEDED her around, he _WANTED_ her around.

"This is weird... but I'll do it. I usually get zapped first anyway." Jack commented, then moved to stand against the gym's wall, facing everyone.

Dr Fraiser repeated her earlier instructions, "Okay Hinata, remember, only focus on Colonel O'Neill."

Hinata nodded in acknowledgement at the reminder, and spoke the activation word. She executed the single hand sign with practiced ease. "Byakuugan."

===38 Minutes Later, Briefing Room===

"So then, what did she find out?" Gen Hammond asked, leaning back in his chair.

"More than I ever could hope for, sir. I'd really like to have more time with Hinata, she has a real desire to help people and with her abilities..." Dr Fraiser replied, then noted everyone's expression and knew she'd gotten caught up vocalizing her fondest wish, again.

"Sorry sir. According to her observations, while everyone here does have a chakra network that's similar to the circulatory and nervous system, she noted that we're alsolike the people on her world. In her words, while everyone on her world has a chakra system, not everyone has the ability to mold it and become a shinobi." Dr Fraiser explained, then paused for a deep breath.

"The same is true for us. Of all of the people she has seen in the base, about two hundred, which is about a quarter of the base's population, have the potential to learn how to mold chakra like they do. However, there _is_ a difference between us and the people of her world, and that did surprise her. On her world, if they don't begin training by age ten or twelve, they generally _lose_ their ability to mold chakra. That's the initial step required for doing a jutsu, then focusing it with the appropriate hand signs." Dr Fraiser added, pausing to give everyone a growing smile.

"She did however, mention one exception to this rule, a boy in the grade ahead of her that was unable to mold chakra at all. The sole reason for that was a birth defect in his chakra coils; this defect rendered him incapable of using what they refer to as Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. So his Sensei, a close-combat specialist, trained him in Taijutsu, their name for martial arts in general. With physical training alone he actually became stronger, and faster, than anyone in their age group, including many of the older shinobi, without using any chakra." Dr Fraiser explained.

Sam asked, "How's that even possible?"

Dr Fraiser explained, clearly impressed with the details of the incident. "He wears weights on his arms and legs, and while she doesn't know how much, it seems to be quite a lot. Hinata recalled him removing his leg weights during what she called the Chuunin Exams; it's a tournament between all the nations to decide who gets promoted, and which countries get the most... ninja business."

Janet checked her notes again. "As I was saying, he removed them during his match and when he dropped them, they made what she described as two-foot wide craters in the ground and kicked up a lot of dirt. Afterward, he moved so fast that even she couldn't follow his movements in the arena."

Sam went into thinking mode for a few moments. "Assuming the ground was just packed dirt, to make craters that size would mean he was wearing at least five hundred pounds on each limb... even Teal'c couldn't move normally with _that_ amount of weight on his legs, no offense Teal'c."

Teal'c replied, "None taken Major Carter, that's a most impressive feat for one so young."

"Yeah, so what's the good news Doc, can we be ninjas?" Jack asked with a grin.

Dr Fraiser answered with a slight frown. "No... We're too old."

Jack pressed on, "Is there some good news at least?"

"Yes, better than I expected in fact. According to Hinata, the entire team has the potential to mold chakra, _and_ so do I." Dr Fraiser replied with a big smile.

Jack leaned back in his chair, half frowning. "I sense a but coming."

Dr Fraiser replied, "Potentially, a rather large one..."

After her numerous chats with Hinata, Sam made an educated guess; she spoke up, "The initial process: tapping into our chakra, and then molding it."

Dr Fraiser nodded in agreement. "From what Hinata has told me, people on her world are aware of their own chakra, even at an early age. Their sense of it, whether it be within themselves, or in the environment around them is almost instinctual. We, on the other hand, _lack _that awareness."

Dr Fraiser paused, her face scrunched in thought. "It's like trying to imagine being wet when you've never been exposed to water. However, we do have an ace in the hole, Hinata. Because of her unique method of fighting, she has the capacity to project her chakra into us. That, in turn, will give us the opportunity to experience the sensation of chakra. _That_ is the critical reference point we completely lack."

Dr Fraiser added after a brief pause. "From that starting point, it would be on each us to turn our senses inward and become aware of the chakra lying dormant within each of us. We'll need special training, but with Hinata helping us, we'll have a distinct advantage."

Sam snapped her fingers in realization. "Hinata will be able to see if we're actually molding our own chakra, right?"

Dr Fraiser nodded. "That's what I'm hoping will happen."

Sam smiled. "That's brilliant. How long do you think it'll take for us to learn?"

===March 26, 11:05 AM Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen Bar===

Shino glanced over at his teammate. "I fail to see the nature of your complaint." He set down his bowl of special order ramen... created to allow for the particular needs of an Aburame.

Kiba frowned and set down his chop sticks, he had just finished his second, Kage-sized, order of double beef ramen. "That's only because..." Kiba's rant died in it's tracks.

Akamaru scurried behind the counter and huddled against Ayame's legs; he barked his sole comment. "_**You're on your own, Boss.**_"

Shino immediately noticed the look on Kiba's face, one of growing panic, and followed his eyes. Striding towards them, his face set in stone, was Neji Hyuuga. Shino's left eyebrow twitched. "How untimely."

Neji halted a few paces away from his cousin's teammates, his eyes taking in the various details. He thought to himself, '_Shino, sitting motionless, check; Kiba,..._' He snorted derisively. '_...in a near panic, check; Hinata, 'not' present, check; Naruto..._'

Then it hit him; he knew about the special mission Hinata's team had been sent on, and that Naruto had been attached to Team Kurenai. Here he was, standing in front of Ichiraku's... and Naruto _wasn't _present; that was an impossibility. His tone spoke volumes, "Where are they?"

Ayame, who had been content to take in the whole scene, suddenly remembered Naruto's chatter from several days ago. She picked up a 12 inch Chef's knife and tapped it on the counter. "Yes, now I remember..." She crossed her arms and laid the flat of the gleaming, and very sharp knife against her shoulder. Her low voice was soaked in menace. "Where _is _Naruto?"

Kiba looked at Shino as he quickly moved to the next stool over. "I made the last report. It's your turn now."

===Naruto's Room===

Naruto was sitting on the side of his bed, already bored. "I am so bore..." Naruto said then zoned out as his eyes glazed over.

===1 Minute Later, Briefing Room===

They turned to the door when a guard came in. The SP announced, "Sorry to interrupt, but something is wrong with Naruto, he seems to have suddenly gone into a trance."

Dr Fraiser got up and ran from the room.

===Naruto's Mindscape===

Sitting on the floor in shock, where he'd just fallen, he looked up through the huge bars at the giant demon fox living there. He just stared for what felt like a minute before he managed to say anything. Naruto yelled, "_YOU'RE WHAT?_"

The Kyuubi repeated the rump of her apology. "**I said I'm sorry for **_**everything**_** you've been through because of me and I want to help you and the girl... you're going to need it.**"

As unbelievable as it sounded, even to him, Naruto almost believed the Kyuubi meant it, and honestly wanted to help him and Hinata. Naruto replied harshly, "_Why should I trust you furball, you've done nothing but try to kill me and escape from the moment I found out about you from Mizuki-teme._"

Naruto's eyebrows went up as he heard the Kyuubi sigh. "**That's complicated, and honestly you **_**wouldn't **_**understand, even if I told you everything**_**.**_** That big ring they showed you, and how you got here... it has to do with that. Basically, when we went through it... it finally gave me the chance to rid myself completely of the jutsu I was still being affected by. I don't expect you to believe me, **_**or**_** trust me... but I'm not evil, none of the Bijuu are; we're simply different parts of nature. Like you humans, we have our problems **_**too**_**. **

The Kyuubi let out a snort that ruffled Naruto's hair.** "Then again what would you expect if you had existed for thousands of years." **The Kyuubi's ears drooped. "**All I ask is you give me a chance**." The Kyuubi repeated her plea; leaving out facts like, her gender, that she was forced to attack Konoha and who his parents were, among the many other things that no one was ready for, especially Naruto.

Naruto replied, "_I'll think about it... can you prove you want to help me?_"

The Kyuubi's ears pricked up; this was the moment she was waiting for. The Kyuubi answered back, "**She loves you.**"

"_What?_" Naruto's eyes widened, confused by the Kyuubi's reply.

Kyuubi explained, her tails swishing in agitation. "**Hinata **_**loves**_** you, she has since she was a child. That's why she blushes and stutters around you. It breaks her heart that you waste your time chasing that pink-haired bitch that loves that Uchiha traitor, and treats you like garbage regardless of what you do for her.**"

Naruto went numb as the Kyuubi's words sunk in; he ran his entire life through his mind. Looking at everything with a totally different view this time, he saw many things he had missed the first time. Naruto said to himself, "_Am I really that dense?"_

The Kyuubi let out a soft snort. "_**Yes**_**, you are."** Suddenly the Kyuubi's head tilted upwards, ears twitching.** "We'll have to talk later; they're trying to wake you up. Please think about what I said.**" The Kyuubi asked again.

Naruto nodded, then vanished from his Mindscape.

A third voice spoke up from the darkness. "_Thank you Kyuubi-chan._"

Kyuubi smiled and nodded in reply, wondering why it had been so helpful... and familiar.

===March 26, 11:20 AM, Training Area 8, Konoha===

Along the way to their new location, at Shino's suggestion, for privacy... and fleeing Ayame's wrath, they had picked up Tenten and Lee. She had just finished a delivery to ANBU Headquarters, with Lee's assistance; he had taken the task of getting the 2 heavy crates of ninja tools there as a test of his youthfulness... as usual.

Tenten had taken one look at the trio marching up the street (and the looks on their respective faces), Kiba and Shino, with Neji behind them, and KNEW something was up.

Now leaning against a tree, she watched Neji standing over a sitting Kiba (Akamaru was hiding inside his jacket, again) and Shino. Tenten glanced over at Lee, quietly doing squats and watching everything at the same time, then focused her attention on the matter at hand. The disappearance of Hinata and Naruto...

Neji frowned in disbelief. "You're not making any sense."

Kiba snarled in frustration. "No shit! None of it makes any sense, Dammit!" He stood up and started pacing. "Their scent ended there. Period. And it was fresh... less than a couple of minutes by my nose." Akamaru added, '_**Very fresh**_' arfing in agreement. Kiba froze. "That, and the weird smells... they made even less sense."

Tenten stirred at that bit of news. "What do you mean by that? In what way?"

Kiba stood silently, frowning in thought, sorting out what he knew. "The number of scents, the type of scents..." He glanced at Tenten. "Oil and metal, like you; strange scents..." He sneezed at the memory of them. "...strange people; strange clothes, strange food, and I smelled 3 women in that place. One of them was Hinata, the other was the Iwa kunoichi we captured, the third one... unknown."

Kiba started ticking off his fingers. "There were 6 male tracks, one of them was Naruto; the other 2 were the Iwa nins we had faced before. The remaining 3 were unknowns, and one of them smelled... _odd._" Kiba shook his head. "All told, 9 tracks, 5 of them were familiar, 4 were unknowns. Bottom line: we left that place with one captured kunoichi, the remaining 8... "

Kiba shook his head. "They were gone."

Lee halted in mid-squat. "Gone?"

Kiba waved his arms in frustration, he snarled. "_GONE..._ no more, disappeared..." He sat down with a thump; he whispered, "Gone, just like Hinata, and Naruto... gone."

For several minutes, the only sound was the wind rustling the leaves. Shino broke the silence first. "The ring."

Everyone stirred at that; the hairs on Kiba's neck stood up as he recalled the huge metal ring set into the cliff face.

Neji got in Shino's face; reflexively, his Byakuugan had activated. "Explain. Tell me _everything_."

===Stargate Command. Infirmary===

Seeing the needle coming toward him the moment he opened his eyes, Naruto leapt off the bed... from flat off his back. "What's wrong with you people, can't a guy meditate around here without getting kidnapped and experimented on?"

"Looks like you can't." Jack answered from the doorway, then started laughing. He'd gotten there in time to see Naruto wake up.

===Hinata's Room===

Hinata was face down on her bed, Byakuugan active, red-faced from laughter, and giggling almost hysterically into her pillow.

===Infirmary===

"I'm sorry Naruto... Teal'c doesn't go as deep when he meditates, and..." Dr Fraiser replied, feeling stupid for overreacting.

Naruto interrupted, "Wait... you meditate Teal'c? Do they do this to you?"

Teal'c replied, "No, I normally meditate at night. I don't sleep, a few hours of meditation is all I require."

"Because you're a jin... a Jaffa?" Naruto asked, catching himself before he said it, and hoped it looked like he had trouble remembering.

Teal'c nodded. "Yes. How do you meditate so deeply you are unaware of what is happening around you?"

Sam added, "I was wondering about that too."

"I was in my Mindscape working on some new jutsu, can't you guys do that?" Naruto replied, bluffing about what had really happened. Now he would have to actually think up some jutsu, not that he hadn't done that before.

Dr Fraiser asked, "Mindscape?"

Daniel explained, "I've heard of this, there are some monks that can do it; it's like dreaming while awake. Their mind organizes their thoughts and memories into something familiar, like your house or something, right?"

"Hai, that's about right... but I see a sewer. Probably because I'm an orphan and didn't have a very good childhood." Naruto replied, his eyes downcast.

Sam asked, "Can all ninja do this where you're from?"

"Sure, though usually only stronger ninja do it, like Jonin, but I'm special! Actually, I learned to do it by accident. Can I go back to my room now?" Naruto asked with a hopeful tone. Even though the Infirmary wasn't like Konoha General, he still had an instinctive urge to flee any place that smelled like it.

"Sure, sorry Naruto." Dr Fraiser replied with an apologetic smile.

Naruto exited the room and headed back to his quarters; pondering the Kyuubi's words and it's request, he failed to notice Jack watching him leave.

Teal'c quietly joined him, also watching Naruto walk away. "He is a most extraordinary child, O'Neill. It will be most interesting serving with him."

Jack gave him a sideways look. "You're right and wrong my friend."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well, he is something else." Jack turned his attention back to Naruto. "And _no_, I suspect his childhood ended a long time ago." He sighed softly. "Damn, I need a drink."

Sam, who had silently joined them, poked Jack in the back. "No slacking on duty, soldier." She said a mock gruff voice.

Jack gave her a faint smirk over his shoulder. "Yes dear."

===12:30 PM, Training Ground 8, Konoha===

Neji turned the length of ninja wire over in his hands again... it had been cut, very cleanly cut. He now possessed all the information to be had from Shino and Kiba, in his head now. For the tenth time, he stared at the scratched-out map on the ground. Kiba had marked, and traced every track that had been observed... even Akamaru had gotten into it, nosing a marker here and there to correct their placement.

As much as he had looked down on Kiba in the past, there was no disputing his information, or Akamaru's... nor their noses. Even when he added Shino's insights into the mix, the mystery became no clearer. An ironic smile flashed over his face as he thought, '_Six months ago, I wouldn't have cared less at this turn of events concerning Hinata, let alone Naruto_.' He put the ninja wire in his equipment pouch and sighed, as much as he would thank Naruto for changing his view of things, it had made his life vastly more complicated.

He looked over at his fellow nins; Kiba, Lee and Tenten were having a (fairly civil) argument, with Shino acting as referee; Akamaru was barking every time Kiba made a point. He nodded to himself and began to turn away, his next destination would be the Hokage's Office.

Shino sat up straight and looked over his shoulder. "Don't do it."

Neji frowned at Shino. "What are you talking about?"

Shino stood up and pointed towards the Hokage's residence. "Don't go there, leave this matter to Hiashi-dono. The Hokage will decide how to break the news to him, and when." Kiba nodded vigorously in agreement. "If you go now, you'll just make things worse." Shino silently added, '_I'm not even sure that we were supposed to tell anybody about this... even though she didn't say anything concerning that subject_.'

Tenten let out a curt, bitter laugh. "Worse? Hinata and Naruto are missing, vanished by Kiba's reckoning." She pointed at the map scratched into the dirt. "What could possibly be worse?"

"That." Lee pointed off to his right. "_That_ could be worse." Everyone followed his finger and saw Sakura trotting towards them; she was not smiling.

Kiba muttered as he shook his head. "It's not my turn, it's not my turn..."

===Naruto's Room, Stargate Command===

Naruto was lying on his bed thinking about what the Kyuubi had told him about Hinata. He found it hard to believe that someone like her could like him that way. She was the Hyuuga Princess, and he was... the dead last of the Academy; the village prankster and the Jinchuuriki of the most powerful, and most hated, demon in the world.

What made him worthy of even asking her out? He sighed sadly. "I need to get out of here and do something before I go crazy... I'd even be glad to see Guy-sensei right now." Naruto grumbled, then sat up. "Well, maybe not him, I'm not that desperate, yet. Even pervy Sage would be..." Naruto added, then froze as an idea formed in his mind.

"I can't get back to Konoha, but Jiraiya-sensei can do this too... so, it should work!" Naruto grinned. He hopped off the bed, bit his right thumb, did the hand signs and slapped the ground. "SUMMON!"

'Poof'. "**Hey Naruto..." **Gamakichi paused as he glanced about, this was not Naruto's apartment.** "Where the hell are we?**"

"Hey Gamakichi, it's a long story, but I'm so glad to see you. Basically, I'm on another world, I was brought here with Hinata through some big ring called a Stargate. I need you to get this message back to Jiraiya-sensei and have him tell Tsunade we're okay." He reached over to the nearby desk, grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, and started furiously scribbling.

Naruto added, "Oh yeah, the Stargate on our world is at the place where the beetles are. Tell 'em it's where Hinata was held. Kiba and Akamaru should be able to find it; it's by a stream that goes into a small cave."

Gamakichi looked at Naruto as if he was insane, but his surroundings, and the fact it was Naruto, told him as unlikely as it sounded, it had to be true. Gamakichi asked, "**Okay Naruto, you stay here... I know I'll be back with a message for you. Oh, and can you get me some food?**"

"Sure. That's easy." Naruto replied with a grin; he watched Gamabunta's eldest son vanish in a puff of smoke. "Now, what did that guard look like... oh _yeah_." Naruto grinned and then made his favorite hand sign.

===Konoha. Tsunade's Office [Part I]===

Tsunade looked up from her newly-replaced desk; while she was outwardly calm, on the inside she was anxious, and angry... chiefly due to the sense of helplessness that she couldn't set aside. The only thing that had gone right was the major miracle of Kakashi showing up on time. Like Jiraiya, he was standing with the rest of the investigation team. It wasn't that she doubted Kiba and Shino's abilities... but these were the best that Konoha had to offer.

Tsunade thought sadly, '_All my strength, everything I can do... and I couldn't save him._'

_Something _had happened in that accursed valley, and she was damn well going to find out what it was... before she quit. She glanced at the map again and reminded herself to send a note to Ibiki to lean on that Iwa kunoichi for every bit of information she possessed. Thinking it was better to be safe than sorry, she decided to add Inoichi to that task. She let out a deep breath and turned to her friend. "You're in charge Jiraiya, I want to know what..."

Gamakichi appeared on her desk in front of Jiraiya in a puff of smoke. "**Naruto sent me to tell...**" Gamakichi interrupted her mission instructions.

Tsunade yanked the small Toad Summon off the desk, she growled fiercely, "What do you mean Naruto sent you, did you see him? Where is he?'

Jiraiya waved his hand. "Calm down Tsunade, and put him down, gently... Now my friend, tell us what you know." He asked, now in full Sannin Mode.

Everyone noticed the shift in Jiraiya's mood; he had gone from concerned to serious in an eye-blink... a rare moment, even for Tsunade. She knew that when she saw that face, she'd best take him seriously.

===12 Minutes Later, Stargate Command, Naruto's Room===

Gamakichi appeared next to Naruto on his bed in a puff of smoke. "**I have a scroll for you from Tsunade; she's not very happy that you're gone, but she's glad you and Hinata are okay. She wants you to read it and tell Hinata... what's that smell?**"

"They're called burritos, I got you one. They're kinda like egg rolls, but filled with meat, beans and cheese, and a lot bigger." Naruto explained, then laid the plate in front of him.

Gamakichi stared at it a moment, then sat up, grabbed it and popped the whole burrito in his mouth. After a few moments, he swallowed and smiled. "**Mm, this is **_**great**_**! You have to get me some more food like this!**"

"Thanks, tell Baa-chan not to worry... oh, if they're around the Stargate and it starts to light up, tell 'em to _not_ _be in front of it_." Naruto waved his arms dramatically. "When it opens there's this... _whoosh_ kinda thing, like a geyser, and it goes out like... over twenty feet, and anything it touches is just... gone, what they call disintegrated, nothing is left." Naruto finished his explanation with a snap of his fingers.

Gamakichi stared wide-eyed at Naruto, then nodded slowly and vanished in a small puff of smoke.

===Monitor Room, Stargate Command Security HQ===

The man announced, "It happened again, you think that big talking..."

The second man interrupted, "It's a toad, not a frog."

The first man asked, "Whatever... you think it was that clone thing, or did he really whistle up a talking toad?"

The second man replied, "I don't know... but I'm not gonna say anything, just in case. Besides, do you think he'd like it that we're spying on him, and the girl? He's a _ninja_ from another planet, do you really think we're holding them here... I'll bet two month's pay they could leave any time they wanted to, and we couldn't do shit to stop 'em. You wanna piss 'em off... Be. My. Guest."

"Good point." The first man agreed with his Sergeant's take on the whole matter... now that the quiet buzz was spreading through SGC, despite orders to the contrary.

The second man reminded his assistant, "Besides... there's a rumor that the girl can paralyze you with a touch, and her fighting style does internal damage, destroying your internal organs. Imagine her reaction if she thought you were spying on her while she's doing stuff like... changing her clothes or showering."

The first man paled at the thought, and clamped his legs together.

The second man added with a smirk, "So keep any thoughts you have about her to yourself, Captain Hentai. This isn't one of those fanfics you're always reading about some barely teenage girl with huge breasts."

===Konoha, Tsunade's Office [Part II]===

Even though she wasn't looking at them, Tsunade could tell that everyone was getting more restless by the minute. It had been over 15 minutes since Gamakichi had been dismissed, after giving Jiraiya as full a report as possible... it was Gamakichi after all. That wasn't saying much though, even knowing Naruto and Hinata were safe didn't help with the news that they were on _another fucking planet_... she was still trying wrap her brain around that concept alone.

Just that single fact alone had caused an uproar, for more than a few minutes, amongst the normally calm and stoic shinobi assembled in her office. It was only by force of will that she didn't pull out the biggest bottle in her secret stash and empty it down her throat, then and there. '_Kami's pink panties_', she thought to herself. '_Only Naruto could do this to me; he's going to be doing D-ranks for a year... after I hug the stuffing out of that knucklehead_.'

She finally looked up and issued her orders. "The ANBU team will proceed to the objective; Jiraiya and I will be present as well. Everyone else will remain in Konoha and _say _nothing about this mission, or the status of Naruto and Hinata, to _anyone._"

Kakashi stirred at that. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I need to inform Sakura..."

Tsunade silenced him with a scowl. "No." She waved her hand when she noticed he was going to press the issue. "I understand your needs, but this is an extraordinary situation. It's going to be hard enough keeping Kurenai and Hiashi-dono in the dark, but it has to be done. Until I have a better sense of what we've got on our hands... this will stay an S-ranked matter." She snorted in dismay. "Hell, I'd make it even higher if I could_._"

Kakashi made no effort to hide his disapproving frown, what little of it could be seen. She switched her gaze to the ANBU Commander. "Neko, take your people and get there as quietly, and as quickly as possible. You will NOT be observed; detain anyone unlucky, or skilled enough to spot you en route, or at the target. Terminate _anyone_, your best judgment on that matter, if you are unable to stop them from successfully fleeing the Secure Zone... whether they be nin, or civilian_._ Understood?"

Yuugao was glad the mask hid her reaction to the dire order Tsunade had just given. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade flicked her hand. "Kakashi stay. ANBU, move out. Everyone else is dismissed."

===3:10 PM, Beetle Valley, Naruto's World===

"So this is that Stargate thing, huh... impressive." Tsunade said. She now had the luxury of being casual since the ANBU had reported that there was no one within 10 miles of the valley, and their current location... the Secure Zone.

Tsunade glanced at it again; never in her life had she seen something so simple-looking, yet was the source of so much chaos to her, and potentially, to Konoha. She turned to Kakashi. "I wanted you to see this, and I hope, appreciate why I'm taking such a hard line concerning it."

Kakashi tore his gaze away from the metal ring and covered his Sharingan eye. He had examined it thoroughly, even touched it... it embodied the word alien. "I will confess Hokage-sama, it's unlike anything I've ever seen." He glanced at it again. "Only Naruto could possibly get tangled up with something..." He searched for the right word. "...so outlandish, and alien a thing as this." Both Tsunade and Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Hai, I understand... but I'm still uneasy about it all."

Tsunade snorted in amusement. "Welcome to the club, Kakashi-kun. Part of me isn't all that pleased either, but the peril..." She hooked her thumb at it. "...of that thing, and all that could come of it... worries me beyond words."

She pointed to the ring. "My only hope of keeping that thing a secret is through deception. As much as I hate the idea of letting everyone suffer not knowing the fate of Naruto and Hinata, that suffering will be the shield that maintains that secrecy we'll need, badly." Tsunade hung her head in thought for a moment, then met Kakashi's gaze. "I promise that I'll do my best to use the breathing space we'll get by this shadow play wisely, and that everyone hurt by it will be properly rewarded in the long term. I give you my word as the Godaime Hokage on that."

Kakashi nodded without further comment; Tsunade had given her word, that was all he needed, or wanted to hear.

She acknowledged his assent and added. "Consider these added problems, the other Hidden Villages aside, just imagine what would happen if Danzo, or Orochimaru got wind of _that_." She tossed a look at the Stargate and shook her head. "And then there's the matter of the Fire Daimyo... what the HELL do I tell him? Do I tell him anything, and if I do... will it stay a secret?"

Jiraiya frowned. "That is a problem, Hime. By law, you are obliged to tell him... something. If you fail to do so, it will provide Danzo the kunai he needs to remove you from your position, and he will do it. On the other hand, I do NOT trust his Court; I've only accounted for the obvious spies lurking within it. There IS a limit as to how high I can snoop amongst his advisors."

Kakashi scratched his head in thought. "Can't you just invite him to a special... meeting?"

Tsunade shook her head. "That would be very tricky. While I don't doubt that he'd happily accept an invitation, if one of those advisors of his got it into his head that he was being summoned by me... it could get ugly, fast." She frowned at the memory of her last meeting with him. "I know how he is... the newest suggestion that catches his fancy tosses everything else out the nearest window."

Jiraiya snapped his fingers and smiled. "Offer him a celebration... his only son is turning 6 at the end of next month. Turn it into a special occasion for both of them."

Tsunade's smile quickly morphed into a sour face. "It's an interesting plan, but there's just one problem with it... his son is a spoiled little monster."

Kakashi shivered at the memory of his last encounter with the Fire Daimyo's son. '_Gaah! I'd almost prefer facing Orochimaru with just a wooden spoon first_.'

Jiraiya noted the smile growing on Tsunade's face... he instinctively took a step backwards. "What are you thinking, Hime?" He started looking for potential escape routes as her evil Tsu-chan smile surfaced... he hadn't seen that face in a long time, thank Kami.

"Oh Ji-kun, you are so clever!" Her cute voice made everyone within ear-shot shiver. "You can see to it..." She threw the puppy eyes jutsu in for good measure, and lightly stroked his chest with her hand. "...won't you_, _Ji-kun?"

Kakashi said a silent prayer for Jiraiya.

Jiraiya gulped, and smiled faintly. "Of course, Hime. It would be my greatest pleasure." He added silently, '_I will have your ass... and make you squeal for this, Tsunade._'

Kakashi showed _why _he was the best Jonin in Konoha. "Ifthatwillbeall... bye." And shunshin'ed away... in a random direction.

Everyone else there, within eye and ear-shot, made sure they looked very busy, as quietly as possible. Several minutes later, the loser of a match of rock-paper-scissors amongst the ANBU moved towards Tsunade.

The ANBU explained, "Hokage-sama, we found a device that resembles the ring nearby; it appears to have been made of the same type of metal, and has dozens of symbols on it that match those found on the ring."

"Carefully remove it from it's location, seal it in a scroll and we'll get this." Tsunade pointed to the Stargate. "They should have the chamber beneath the civilian shelters inside the Hokage Monument prepared by the time we get back. We're not leaving any of this behind for someone else to find." Tsunade added. "Also make sure that the clean up team removes any trace that these things were ever located here."

"Hai." The ANBU replied and bowed, then moved to join the removal team.

Jiraiya mused, "How are we going to remove it from that cliff face? I've never seen anything of its like before, and if it's as heavy as I think..."

"I got it." Tsunade interrupted with a smile and cracked her knuckles.

"You are such a show off... except for..." Jiraiya remarked, and started to smirk.

"Finish that sentence and you'll be buried in the cliff." Tsunade interrupted coolly then saw him looking at her, right hand on his chin and tapping it with his index finger. "What are you thinking you old pervert?"

"If I could grab one before your fist landed... perhaps another time, we need to help Naruto right now." Jiraiya replied, still stinging from that earlier moment between them.

Tsunade stepped close to him. "Hinata Hyuuga and our Godson are stuck on another fucking planet, and you have the balls to think grabbing one of my tits is worth making me shove you into that cliff?" Tsunade said quietly so only Jiraiya heard her, then sighed through her teeth. "I thought you cared enough about him to be serious for once... I guess I was wrong about you."

Jiraiya whispered in a flat tone, his face deadly serious, "Listen you overdeveloped, short tempered, dried up old bitch, don't you ever tell me I don't care about Naruto again. I'll kick your shriveled old ass across Fire Country... and you know I can do it."

Tsunade flinched subtly in fear, she hadn't seen this side of him in decades... and it honestly scared her a little. "I'm sorry Jiraiya; I was out of line with that comment... I'm sorry." Tsunade whispered sincerely then glanced around. "Since we know they're alright... I never thought I'd say this... come by my place, nine tonight, we'll split... that bottle."

Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up. "That's the last one; I know what it means to you Tsunade-hime... are you sure?" Inside his head, a chibi Jiraiya was doing the happy dance.

Tsunade nodded. "I let our history cloud my judgment about Naruto and... them. I insist."

Jiraiya promised solemnly, "I'll be there... and I won't mention this to anyone."

Tsunade smiled slyly at his pledge. "Thanks... now, let me show you why I'm the Hokage." She walked up to the ring, grabbed it with both hands, and with a grunt ripped it from the cliff. She set it on the ground with a dull _THOOM_. "You were right, it is heavy... about thirty tons I'd say. You do the honors; I don't have any blank scrolls on me."

Jiraiya replied with a grin, "That's what Seal Masters are for." He took out a large scroll, opened it on the ground near the Stargate, and with several quick hand signs, and a precise application of chakra, sealed it in the scroll. Jiraiya stood and walked back to Tsunade with it. "If that's everything... it's been a pleasure going on a mission with you again." He gave her a sly smile. "Race you back, loser buys first round?"

"Everyone pack it up and head back, ASAP!" Tsunade commanded, then turned to Jiraiya. "Make it six, don't stare at my chest, and you have a deal."

Jiraiya gave her a mischievous smile. "Four, and I can look on the way back."

"You are such a pervert..." Tsunade knew when to give in. "Keep your comments to yourself, and you have a deal."

Jiraiya smiled graciously at his minor victory. "Deal. On three."

"I'm only doing this because I'm in a good mood knowing the brat is okay, so don't expect this nostalgic feeling for the old days to last... One... Two... Three!" Tsunade yelled, and exploded from her spot into the trees, followed closely by Jiraiya. As she bounded from tree to tree, she saw him move up next to her and caught him looking at her as she leapt off a branch, her huge breasts bouncing inside her top; it reminded her that she'd gone too far with her comment.

It was like a kunai in her stomach, she knew he had many faults, and while he had made some mistakes concerning Naruto as well, she was just as guilty as he was... perhaps more so. Things were just calming down after the Third Shinobi War; then there was the Kyuubi attack; in all honestly, neither of them were ready to claim Naruto back then.

She had to do something special for Jiraiya when he came over to share that bottle. She had no intention of sleeping with him, but she had to make it up to him somehow, even if it cost her some pride and a little dignity.

===6:00 PM, The Iron Kimono, Shopping District, Konoha===

Finally satisfied with the window display for the new shinobi accessories, Hotaru decided to close early; it had been a less-than-busy day anyway. It hadn't helped that 2 of her best customers had broken their appointments for fittings. The Chuunin that had shown up to deliver the I'm sorry notes had been distinctly un-talkative, and rather pale to boot.

Her gut told her something major was in the air, but she still had enough respect for the concept of operational security, and the skin of the nervous Chuunin, not to press the matter further. She shrugged and told herself that it didn't matter, sooner or later, she'd find out anyway. Of course she'd never talk about it to anyone else, but she had those moments when a part of her wished that she was back in the game again.

As she prepared to flip the OPEN sign by the shop door, she spied Kurenai coming down the street. The typical civilian would have noted nothing different, or out of place with Konoha's best Genjutsu user, but her experienced eyes told her otherwise. Without a second thought, she stepped into the street and put herself directly in Kurenai's path.

Hotaru scowled as she got closer. '_Kami, she doesn't even see me; it must be bad... worse than when her and Asuma broke up_.' She put her hands on her hips and braced herself for what might happen next; she used her best Onoki voice. "I'm an evil, sneaky, Iwa nin... and you're mine, Ku-chan." She had hoped for a laugh... Hotaru's heart sank as tears started pouring from her friends eyes.

The mask on Kurenai's face began to fall apart. "She's been declared missing, Ho-chan." In the world of shinobi, missing was sometimes a polite way of saying dead.

Hotaru didn't need to hear the name, she knew who it was. She grabbed her friend's hand and dragged her back into her store, flipping the sign to CLOSED, and locking the door behind them. She tried to lead Kurenai to a nearby chair, but they only made it a few steps in before she sank to her knees, embraced herself and began rocking back and forth.

Hotaru gave her friend a sad smile. '_I warned you not get so close to your Genin, Ku-chan. It hurts so much when you lose them... I know._' She did the only thing she could; she knelt beside Kurenai, the Ice Queen of Konoha and held her until her tears ceased.

===March 26, 7:30 PM, Stargate Command, SG1 Team Room===

Jack leaned back in his chair and stared at the computer monitor. He was glad that he had decided to review and edit the report on that mission... the one that had set off the current chain of events. As chaotic as that day had been, it was hardly a surprising that a few important details had gotten shoved to the back of his mind. He selected, Save file, and smiled in anticipation. '_One less task to interrupt the upcoming chakra training_.'

Jack turned his attention to the trio occupying the couch: Sam, flanked by Naruto and Hinata, with her laptop resting on her legs; she was showing them a slide show of the latest Hubble photographs. He couldn't help but smile at the looks of wide-eyed amazement on the pair's faces as Sam gave them a running commentary of the various images.

A chuckle escaped as he realized that this was the longest period of time that he had ever seen Naruto sitting still in one spot (and silent) since they had arrived at SGC. He glanced at Daniel and noted the smile in his eyes as he peeked over his book, also taking in the scene on the couch. His attention shifted as the phone on his desk rang. Picking up the receiver, he gave the standard greeting: "SG one team room, Colonel O'Neill speaking."

General Hammond's voice was carefully neutral. "Jack, come to my office please."

"Yes sir. I'll be right there." The click that followed that brief order told Jack that the answer to his earlier request was probably at hand. As he stood up and closed the window on the report, he easily noted that all eyes were now on him.

He broke the silence first. "What?"

Daniel lowered his book and looked at Sam. "He's up to no good again."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Probably."

Naruto's face became hopeful, he gave Jack a foxy grin. "Are you going to prank somebody?" Hinata giggled softly in response to Naruto's question.

Jack gave them all his best annoyed face. "No." He pointed at Naruto. "You. Sit. Stay here and behave." Naruto pouted at Jack's response. "Anyway, the boss wants to talk, gotta go." He made straight for the door before any other questions could be tossed at him.

As the door shut, Sam opened a new tab. "Now then, let me show you some videos taken during the first Moon landing." Successfully diverting Naruto's growing thoughts of mischief.

===2 Minutes Later, General Hammond's Office===

Gen Hammond replied to the soft knock at his door. "Enter."

As Jack moved to report, Hammond waved his hand to a nearby chair. "Have a seat Jack." Col. O'Neill briefly paused in mid-step at the break in protocol and settled into the offered chair. "I checked the names you gave me Jack. To be frank, I was a bit surprised at the request in the first place. And, I was even more surprised at what I discovered."

He picked up a stapled report and glanced through it briefly. "I can see why you asked for the one man, Master Sergeant Hayes. His background, the parts of which that aren't redacted, are... interesting, to say the least."

Jack nodded in agreement. "He's as skilled and experienced as anyone could possibly ask for. And, his Special Forces background, and their specialized training, will be a definite plus when comes to interacting with people coming from a different cultural background... which would be the mildest description of our newest guests."

Hammond gave Jack a rare impish smile. "To be sure." He then reset his face to neutral mode.

Jack braced himself. '_Here it comes_.'

"And then you had to surprise me, and not in a pleasant way, with your second choice." Hammond shook his head. "What were you thinking Jack? This man is... to put it politely, _toxic_." Hammond tossed the report back onto his desk. "Being fair, I contacted three different sources: one of them called the man a maniac, another told me he redefined the term loose cannon." Hammond crossed his arms across his chest. "The third source... was genuinely surprised that the man wasn't in Leavenworth."

Jack took a deep breath and sat up straight in his chair. "Permission to speak... plainly and privately, sir." Jack glanced at the ceiling meaningfully.

Hammond pondered O'Neill's unusual request for a long moment. Finally, he nodded and reached for his intercom and flicked a certain switch. "Go ahead Jack, and make it count."

"Thank you, sir." Jack gathered his thoughts and spoke. "With all due respect to your sources, sir... and I'm not going to even bother to ask who they were... but they couldn't be more wrong about Major Von Krieger."

Jack pulled out a notepad and pen and quickly scribbled out a name and number. "After I've spoken my peace, and offered my defense of the Major, call that number." He slid the paper to Hammond. "The man on the other end of it will tell you, off the record, what he knows about the Major. I had hoped that I wouldn't have to use that source." He pointed to the torn note paper. "But it seems unavoidable now."

Hammond raised an eyebrow. "Off the record?" He looked at the number below the name. "This is a cell phone number. Who..."

Jack raised his hand to halt the question. "Burn it after use, sir. And forget that name after you've made the call. I'm calling in a very old favor over this matter."

Hammond flipped the paper over and put his hand over it. "I see. Proceed, Jack."

"Thank you, sir."

===35 minutes later===

Hammond leaned back in his chair. "If anybody but you, and a couple of other people, had told me all that..." He rubbed his face. "I'd call them a goddamned liar."

Jack nodded. "I fully understand, sir. So then, I take it you'll be making that call?" He eyed the paper under Hammond's hand.

Gen Hammond shook his head. "There'll be no need for that Jack. Hang onto that favor, you... hell, we may need it." He handed the slip back and watched as Jack took out a lighter, burnt it completely and rubbed the ashes between his palms.

"By the way, you just may be right, and it is a worthy idea. If we send a contact team to Konoha, they just might be the perfect choice." Hammond picked up the report again. "What was their unofficial handles again?"

Jack smiled. "Stan and Ollie, sir." He watched as the General wrote it down on the report's cover sheet.

Gen Hammond chuckled at the reference. "I'll set the wheels in motion Jack. Your request for a pair of special instructors is approved. I'll let you know when their transfer is finalized."

Jack stood and saluted. "Thank you, General."

===March 26, 7:50 PM, Hokage Monument, Konoha===

It was a beautiful sunset, easily worth remembering, but for Sakura, it had no meaning... and little worth. She sat alone atop the Third's head, she'd remembered that this had been a favorite perch for Naruto. He'd gotten her to come up once, years ago when they were still Academy students. A smile came, and quickly departed as she recalled him yelling his defiance to the village below... shouting out his vow to be the best Hokage ever. The memory of her, baka Naruto being... Naruto, brought the tears back.

===Earlier===

The word of Team 8's return had led her on a path of discovery that got worse with each successive checkpoint. After learning the awful news, she had wandered in shock through Konoha and had eventually wound up at a place she knew by heart was his favorite place in the whole world, Ichiraku ramen, and stepped through the curtain in a pathetic attempt to absorb some of Naruto's personality and cheer her up a little, as he used to do.

When she entered and headed for her usual stool, something happened... something she would have never expected in a thousand years. Ayame, who was chopping up vegetables, suddenly went stiff and turned to her. Sakura halted in surprise, and then froze as Ayame gave her the coldest, most hate-filled glare Sakura ever seen in her life... and pointed the gleaming knife at her chest.

Then she heard 4 words she'd never forget... "You made him promise." Ayame spoke in a low, stern voice, her eyes absolutely BLAZING with hatred.

Sakura bolted from there like she'd never done in her life; Lee hadn't moved that fast in his match with Gaara AFTER he dropped his weights. When she finally stopped, she found herself at the only other spot in Konoha she knew that Naruto loved above all others, and collapsed.

===Present===

Here she was, hours later, having finally calmed down. Staring at the sunset, the fading light matched her growing despair, and aloneness... Team 7 was gone now, and only she remained. It was her fault. Sasuke had sought strength elsewhere to feed his dark fury, launched by the death of his family... and his Clan. She knew that he had seen her lack of focus, and strength, and had found her wanting. She'd gotten Naruto to promise to bring him back... in the fading light, she truly realized the pathetic selfishness of her actions.

That promise had cost Naruto everything. It was all her fault. The loneliness that engulfed her, like the growing night, seemed all too fitting a punishment for all the flaws, and dishonest feelings that she had condoned in herself. "I made him promise... I'm sorry... Naruto-sama." Sakura said sadly, tears pouring down her cheeks, she hung her head, she'd give anything if she could take that promise back.

Then Kakashi's teamwork saying ran through her mind, she fell over on her left side and curled into a ball.

===March 26, 11:30 PM, ANBU HQ, Detention Level B===

She sat in the corner of her bare, featureless cell. She almost felt like laughing, except she knew that it would only make her feel worse... and start her crying again; that, she had enough of that shit. It seemed an oddly fitting end for her. She had convinced her older brothers that the only way to end the shame of Kamizuru Clan was to gain possession of the rare bikochu beetle, and use it to find the hidden scrolls of their grandfather, the First Tsuchikage, and the founder of Iwagakure.

The poverty they could live with... they had known little else since the war with Konoha. The insults and sneers had been harder to bear... especially when you considered how badly nearly every other clan had faired against the dreaded Yellow Flash, and the Fire nins in general. Onoki had needed scapegoats... badly, and the Kamizuru Clan had fit the bill quite nicely.

Her older brothers had told her all the stories of what had been; a grand old mansion, land, and all the flowers that would come in the spring. She had never seen those things, up close... the younger sister of the Earth Daimyo lived in their estate now, a generous gift of the Sandaime Tsuchikage. No, she'd grown up in a dirty, crowded little apartment... she slammed the door on that memory; she'd already relived those days earlier in the evening.

No, this was rock-bottom... she glanced at the empty metal plate on the floor and revised that opinion. No, that meal had been distinctly better than her usual fare back in Iwa. Oddly enough, that made things easy; the only things left for her was death, and up. So then... what to do? She knew that her best options were still in play: for some reason they wanted to know what had happened to the Hyuuga girl, and especially the blond brat who had ruined everything.

Strangely enough, she had been neither beaten or raped thus far... that did surprise her. Suzumebachi snickered to herself. '_I wonder what else they lied to us about? They told us the Fire nins would roast our livers before our eyes and play jump rope with our entrails_.' No, all things considered, they had treated her far more decently than she would have ever dared hoped for... given the bad blood between the 2 nations.

The truth was, she didn't know what had happened to the 2 Konoha shinobi. All she remembered was a small army of brats, identical to her chief nuisance, had come out of nowhere and kicked her ass. Then she woke up in the tender arms of an Inuzuka, and an Aburame no less... that was bad enough. There was also the matter of the odd looking, huge metal ring... the thing that had made her brothers disappear; she shivered at the memory of that terrible moment.

Nope, all in all, she had nothing save what little she did know, and her trump card... the Meisaigakure no Jutsu. Now THAT was worth something. Given the current state of things, she had no qualms about bargaining with that chit, or turning her back on Iwa... THAT was an easy choice... The Tsuchikage's calculated malice towards her clan had seen to that. She took a deep breath and ignored the itching sensation from the Chakra Suppression Seal on her spine... touching that would only earn her blinding pain; she sat up straight and waited.

Soon they'd be coming for her; she smiled as she imagined the looks on their faces when she would tell them, What took you idiots so long? And then proceed to make the sweetest deal they could imagine.

Fuck Iwa, and _fuck_ Onoki... it was time for her to make her own future; the Kamizuru Clan would be reborn and she didn't give a damn where that happened.

Little did she realize that her destiny would amaze even her.

x

End Chapter 3

x

Author's Note: Just to be Clear, ANBU Headquarters is divided into 2 Sections, Shadow Division where the ANBU live, train, etc... and the Torture & Interrogation Division, or T & I for short. Both are located inside the Hokage Monument, and at the opposite end from the Civilian Shelters. At the North end is the Civilian Shelters behind the Academy; at the South end is ANBU HQ. For scale, figure them at about a mile apart with the Hokage Tower basically in the center. Oh, and for this AU, Konoha is about 5 miles across.


	4. Ninjas in Space

NinjaGate

Ninjas in Space

By: MikeJV37

x

Author's Note: Okay, I start the missions in this chapter, but I won't be following the show as a general rule. I may have some of the 'canon missions', with a Naruto twist, and some from my mind, some good, some bad, and a few purely for the fun of making up a world of OC's... in which case _expect _nudity and/or perviness. Given recent events, consider this a warning... this fic is rated '**M**', that _means _certain things _are _going to occur within this story... like LEMONS and assorted pervy content. If you're not up for that (or the proper age), click 'Back' and seek amusement _**elsewhere**__. _

Running to the Site Moderators, whining that your 'delicate' sensibilities have been 'offended' is weak sauce, at best... giving the rating of this story.

_And _before you ask, they will run into the Goa'uld _eventually_... we _do_ need villains to cause trouble and battle with.

x

===April 2, 8:22 AM, Stargate Command, General Hammond's Office===

"They can go." Hammond stated flatly.

"But they've proven they... excuse me?" Daniel blinked in surprise.

"They can go on missions; I assigned them to SG1 about 40 minutes ago, after getting a reply from their Hokage." Hammond explained, then pushed the papers to the other side of his desk.

"So you made me listen to Daniel talk for 20 minutes... for laughs?" Jack groused.

"I don't have to answer that. Have them sign these documents, then get them geared up and ready to go by O-900 hours. Dismissed." Hammond said. As they got up to leave Hammond gave Jack a 'look' and a nod. Jack smiled briefly and nodded back. '_It's on, they're finally coming_.' He thought.

After they left Jack turned to the others. "Is it just _me_, or did we just get 'pranked' by General Hammond?" The smile he wore was for more than just the obvious reason.

"I think we did." Daniel replied.

"I agree sir." Sam concurred.

"I believe you are correct." Teal'c added with a slight nod.

===9:00 AM, Gate Room===

Naruto looked down at his new uniform, for the fifth time. "Oh come on, _do_ I have to wear this? I look like Bushy Brows... or a Grass nin." Naruto grumbled.

"You look fine Naruto, its camouflage, _everyone_ wears it." Jack gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I think you look good Naruto-kun... um, how do I look?" Hinata asked, her voice trailing off at the end.

Naruto looked at Hinata. Like him, she still wore her shinobi sandals, but was now wearing 'woodland-pattern' (summer-weight) battle dress pants with numerous pockets, and a matching tunic jacket (with still more pockets) that was buttoned almost all the way up like her old coat was. The finishing touch, matching his new look, was a webbed, olive drab (as it was called), 'quick release' utility belt with her shinobi equipment and weapons pouches attached to it, _and_ a gift from Sam, a K-BAR survival knife in a brown leather sheath. Both of them were carrying SGC-issued personal comm units like the rest of the team.

Naruto thought her new weapon was cool, but he preferred his kunai's. He paused at her chest, and for a moment he thought she had boobs like Sam and the other women around the base, but dismissed it... though her chest did look somewhat _bigger_ in that outfit. Maybe it was the color. "You look fine... wow, you look good in sunglasses Hinata." Naruto commented with a smile.

"Thank you Naruto-kun... they're Sam's idea, to hide my eyes. They're... what was it, oh! They're our _secret_ weapon." Hinata replied and smiled with a small blush.

"Am I a secret weapon _too_?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Jack grinned. "Big time. She's our special defense, you're our special weapon." Jack tapped Naruto on the head and added. "Just don't go off _until_ I tell you to."

Naruto smiled proudly. "Do I get a gun?"

"No!" Everyone but Hinata replied in unison.

"I said I was _sorry_... I didn't know that button would fire that... 'grenade' thingy. It was a nice explosion though." Naruto added with a wistful smile.

Jack shook his head at the memory of that 'event'. "We needed to upgrade that target range anyway."

"Remember, if you _don't_ report back in 24 hours your code _will_ be locked out. Naruto, Hinata, do what they _tell you to do_... especially _you_ Naruto, I was _warned_ about you." Hammond announced.

Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Thanks Baa-chan... even on another planet she won't let me have any fun." Naruto replied, slightly annoyed.

Jack gave his P90 a final check. "Come on Naruto, maybe we'll get lucky and get in a fight."

"Yeah, yeah... with my luck they'll all be like Daniel and I'll be bored to death." Naruto snorted.

"Hey!" Daniel shot back.

"I'd like it, Daniel-san." Hinata replied in his defense.

Daniel gave her a slight bow and a smile. "Thank you Hinata. Let's go already."

"Oh yes, before I forget." Hammond spoke as they were positioning themselves into their 'walking order'. "Dr Fraiser told me that she got the 'special' items she had asked for." The entire team pricked up their ears at that, Sam more so than the others; she knew what Janet had requested. "By the way Major Carter, have Naruto and Hinata successfully completed their Earth 'cultural orientation' lessons?"

Sam smiled knowingly. "Yes _sir. _They're cleared for 'escorted visits' outside SGC."

Hammond smiled back. "Oh good. _Perhaps_, after this mission, they can get an opportunity to see something other than the inside of Star Gate Command." He watched as Naruto and Hinata's faces lit up with excitement.

Daniel chuckled. "Congratulations you two, you get..."

Naruto let out a yell..."YATA!" ...and jumped an easy 10' into the air; even Hinata looked about as excited as anyone could remember. Jack let Naruto 'cut loose' for about a half a minute before stepping in. "Okay guys, _focus_." Jack made the hand-signal for 'assemble'. "Let's go people."

Gen Hammond watched them go through the gate, then after it closed he grinned briefly as he remembered the events that morning, before they had come to see him.

x FLASHBACK x

Gen Hammond settled in his chair, fresh from his early morning 'jog' within SGC (which doubled as a 'snap' inspection of various departments). Still dressed in an old and well-worn dark blue tracksuit, he reached over, turned on his monitor, and 'waggled' the mouse to bring up his login box. He sighed as his eyes passed over the Night Duty Log from the CQ (A/N: Charge of Quarters) detailing the _latest _incident involving Naruto. The event: a 'break-in' at the cafeteria, and in the 'details' box was written: 'three missing pecan pies and a box of cinnamon buns'.

He muttered. "That boy would make me tear my hair out... if I had any left worth mentioning." As he reached for his coffee cup he heard a subdued 'poof' and watched warily as a small cloud of smoke (centered on his desk) dispersed revealing a… an orange toad with purple markings, the size of a beagle... wearing a blue vest.

The toad raised its right front leg and gave him a cheery wave. "**Yo! You're the boss of this place, right?**"

Hammond's right eyebrow began to twitch, he halted his right hand's slow movement to the desk drawer holding his old M1911 Colt... he recalled the reports of Naruto's odd visitations by similar... creatures. "That's not my _exact_ title, but yes, I'm the Commander here."

"**Great, I got it right in one... Pops will be so proud of me.**" The toad gave Hammond a wide smile. Before Hammond could reply, the toad's mouth opened and its tongue extended a couple of feet, dropping the scroll it had been holding in its mouth. "**That's a message from the nice lady for you.**"

'_Nice lady?_' Hammond mentally digested that fact for a moment. "You mean _the _'Hokage', correct?"

"**Yup."** The toad nodded and grinned.** "Wow, you're pretty smart.**"

Hammond reached for his coffee and took a sip. "Thanks for the endorsement."

"**No problem.**" Gamakichi glanced around Hammond's office. "**So, should I wait for your answer?**"

Hammond opened the scroll and gave it a quick read. "No. I'll need to discuss the contents with _my_ 'boss' first," he replied with a faint smile. "I'll give my response to Naruto and he can send it back to the Hokage."

"**Okay, that's cool. It'll give me an excuse to visit Naruto... he's fun to be with.**" The toad gave him a 'good-bye' wave. "**Abayo, Hagebosu-san!**"

At that, the toad disappeared in a small puff of smoke. Hammond glanced again at the CQ's night report and grimaced. "Yes, I'm sure he is."

x END FLASHBACK x

===March 30, 7:30 AM, Training Ground 15, Konoha===

Kiba and Akamaru shared a yawn as he strode across the clearing; he grumbled to himself. "I hope he knows what he's doing... I still think this is a bad idea." Akamaru arfed in agreement. Less than a week had gone by since everything had been turned upside down... not that any outsider would notice it. As calm and 'normal' as it all seemed to be, for the shinobi of Konohagakure, life was anything but normal.

Both Kurenai's and Guy's teams had been taken off mission rotation... the 'official' word was that they were undergoing 'reassessment', which was pure BS. While Shino was no Shikamaru, his intellect and reasoning abilities were _nothing _to sneer at. His opinion: he and Kiba were now 'locked down', and being kept _inside _the walls of Konoha.

The why... Shino declared that it probably concerned 'the ring', now only referred to as 'it'. He further reasoned that Neji's team had suffered the same fate because he had ignored Shino's warning to leave the matter be, and had gone to the Hokage. As predicted, that had _not _turned out well; Guy-sensei had used some very 'unyouthful' words (or so he had heard) to chew out Neji for what he had done. Neji had declared a 'no comment' when asked how Tsunade-sama had reacted.

Kiba ceased his musings as he spotted his fellow conspirators... the remains of Team Kurenai, and the now 'grounded' Team Guy. Tenten paused with her ceaseless practicing of flinging sharp metal objects long enough to give him a friendly wave; Lee stopped doing one-armed push ups long enough to give him a modified 'nice guy' greeting; Neji kept practicing his newest Juuken kata; and Shino turned away from a bush he was leaning over to give him a nod of greeting. "Morning, everybody." He held up the large box he'd been carrying from Matsumachi's Bakery. "Cinnamon buns, anyone?"

===April 1, 0900 hrs, 1st SF Group HQ, Torii Station, Okinawa===

A pair of sharp knocks on the open door caused the man sitting behind the desk, who had been studying a joint training proposal with the JGDSF's Special Operations Group, to look up. Standing in the doorway was the commander of the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Colonel Phillips... holding a (very) large coffee cup emblazoned with the SF logo, _and_ he was frowning.

'_Shit, this can't be good if the old man has 'that face' on at this hour of the morning_.' he thought. "Good morning sir." He remained in his chair as the Colonel motioned him to stay seated, and then shut the door behind him. '_Oh Lordy, something's up_.' He amended his previous thought... and decided to grab the mule by the ears. "What's wrong boss? Did the team sent to..."

"No Jeri, they were _all_ safely extracted 2 hours ago. But that's _not_ why I'm here." The Colonel's frown deepened.

_'Oh fuck, I know that 'look', he's pissed about something.'_

The Colonel shook his head. "No Jeri, you need to start packing your gear, you're being _stolen_ from me."

Master Sergeant Hayes sat motionless, and silent, his eyes flicked to the calendar on the wall.

The Colonel shook his head again. "No Jeri, it's _not_ an 'April Fools' gag."

"What the hell..." He leaned forward in his chair. "Who?"

The Colonel took a big swig from his cup. "Star Gate Command."

Hayes narrowed his eyes. "Oot ggi ji mah!" He spat out.

(A/N: Korean slang-'bullshit' or 'Yeah right!')

Colonel Phillips sighed. "I _wish_. Anyway, I have orders to get you on the _next _flight to the main island..." He glanced at the wall clock. "You've got 3 and a half hours to get your shit together; you're booked for a flight leaving out of Haneda at 1530 hrs, First class, direct to Denver."

"I take it I _can't_ refuse this order, sir?" His bushy copper eyebrows were drawn together.

Phillips made a sour face. "Not likely. The SecDef's signature is on the document, _and_ it's been initialed by the President himself."

"_Damn_. I guess I'm going then." Hayes rubbed his face. "What about all my 'special collection' and other such things?"

"Don't worry about it. Just pack light, your old A-team has volunteered to pack all your 'extra' gear and possessions... _and_ I'm calling in a favor; it'll _all_ have 'diplomatic mail' stickers on 'em. Customs won't be touching _any_ of it." The Colonel reassured him.

Hayes thought about some of his more unusual 'possessions', and sighed with relief. "Thank you, sir." He remembered something. "Could I ask a favor of you, sir?"

"Name it, and it'll happen."

"Could you drop by my Dojo and apologize to Arakaki-sensei? I'd promised him I would help with a tournament this Saturday... it looks like _that _ain't gonna happen." He ran his fingers through his close-cut coppery, slightly shot with gray, hair.

"Consider it done, Jeri. That place was like a second home for you... how long have you been going there?" Phillips asked.

Hayes turned his dark blue eyes towards the ceiling in thought. "Nigh on 8 years now, off and on. Anyway, thanks sir."

Colonel Phillips stepped forward and held out his hand; he and Hayes shook hands. "No Jeri, thank _you_. You've done a fine job for me, _and_ for the First Group. We'll _all_ miss you." Phillips stepped back. "One last item, Jeri." He gave him an odd smile.

"Oh great. There's _more_?"

"You bet. I got a personal e-mail from General Hammond, the commander of SGC. The message for you only said this... 'Stan is coming too'."

Hayes gave his (now) former commander a world-class shit-eating grin. "Well _hell_, this assignment might not suck after all."

"Indeed." Phillips returned the grin. "Now get the hell outta here, you got a plane to catch." Phillips snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah... I almost forgot. _Stan's_ old gear is being boxed up as well. Give him my best regards, and tell him to behave himself."

Master Sergeant Hayes stood and saluted crisply. "Yes sir."

===March 30, 10:30 AM, Hokage's Office, Konoha===

Ibiki and Inoichi stood, and watched patiently as their Hokage finished writing a scroll. Given the current state of affairs, Ibiki had been a little surprised when Tsunade-sama had promptly agreed to meet with him, and his co-worker from the T & I Division. Truth be told, he could have requested this meeting a week ago, but he had been enjoying the opportunity the captured Iwa kunoichi had presented him.

As befitting someone of his 'experience' and job, he had taken his time with her. While she wasn't the first disaffected nin he'd ever encountered, in some ways, Suzumebachi Kamizuru _was _unique... a medical analysis from the researchers at Konoha General Hospital had backed up her claim of ancestry to the First Tsuchikage; he didn't know _how _they had confirmed it, and he didn't really care... some secrets _deserved _to remain that way, but they had backed up her claim.

Actually, between him and Inoichi, the latter had spent far more time with her. Reluctantly, but willingly, the Iwa nin had allowed him to use his Mind Reading Jutsu on her. The results had been surprising to say the least; the insights he had gained on Iwa in general, and the current Tsuchikage, had been a gold mine. Not only had they confirmed much of their current intel on Iwa, they had been able to sharpen the focus of a few 'projects' currently underway against Iwa.

Ibiki had, and _hadn't _been surprised, in certain ways; Onoki _was _a Kage's Kage... hard, ruthless, and pragmatic. But the man's 'people' skills _were _less than admirable (to put it mildly). Even allowing for 'memory bias', Onoki's treatment of an important, and long-standing, Iwa clan had been... criminal, at best. While the level of alienation in Suzumebachi hadn't been _that _unusual, the nins that had 'come over' from Kiri still held the top slot in _that _category, it was still noteworthy. No, _this _was a rare opportunity for Konoha, and one he was willing to push over.

Tsunade read over the scroll one last time; satisfied that the tone and questions were right, she rolled her latest message to 'the Shogun' up, and secured it a desk drawer. Finally looking up, she grinned sheepishly at the two T & I members she had left standing in front of her desk for several minutes. "Sorry. Please be seated gentlemen." She settled back in her chair. "I take it you have a final report for me on 'Bellflower'?"

Inoichi took the lead. "Hai, Hokage-sama, _and _a recommendation."

Tsunade smiled in anticipation, she had been waiting for this. "Alright, let's hear it."

Inoichi glanced at Ibiki, who nodded his assent. He took the plunge. "I recommend a full transplanting. The chance for success, _if _all conditions are met, is 100 percent."

Pausing, Inoichi grinned inwardly, the code name for the Iwa kunoichi had been his doing. "The soil, _and _the condition of it's previous location was ridiculously bad. With the standard level of monitoring to insure _no _mishaps occur, I foresee a full flowering."

Tsunade pondered the opinions of one her best T & I men for about a minute; she gave them a smile and nodded. "Do it. Pass Bellflower off to the best garden possible."

Ibiki grinned at that. "Hai, Hokage-sama." He had _just _the place for her... and he knew Shibi would have fun with this little project.

===April 1, 4:00 PM, U.S. Embassy, Moscow, Russian Federation===

He was 20' away from main entrance when a voice called out. "Hang on Ric!" Turning, he saw the 'Cultural Attache' (otherwise known as the Senior CIA Officer and Station Chief) walking towards him...the smile on his face screamed 'trouble ahead'. '_Crap, I was almost home free_.' He thought.

"What is it Tom? I actually got permission to leave early, _and_ I have a seriously hot date with Irina. Box seats for the Bolshoi's Swan Lake don't exactly grow on trees you know."

The advancing man, dressed in a business-like, but stylish gray suit gave the Army Major a sour look; the CIA man replied in a low voice. "Jeeze Ric, are you still banging that crazy woman?" He shook his head and added in a quieter voice. "How you managed to talk your way into the bed of an FSB Spetsnaz 'wetwork' operator _without_ being found floating face-down in the Moskva River, I will _never _know."

Major Richard Von Krieger gave the resident 'head spook' a breezy smile. "It's a gift. Besides, we actually _do _share a few hobbies and common 'interests'. The hot kinky sex is just a bonus."

Senior Agent Tom Rudman frowned at his friend and gently steered him back up the hallway. "You _are _'certifiable'... _she's_ the Grand-niece of the Head of the FSB's 8th Division for Christ's sake." He whispered.

"And a damn good chess opponent too." He noted where they were going. "Any way, why do I think we're heading towards the Ambassador's office?"

"Because we are." Rudman's face went blank.

'_Aw fuck_.' He shot his friend a glance. "Care to tell me _why_? I _know_ that _you_ know the reason."

Rudman nodded, a sly smile briefly making an appearance. "I _could_... but that would spoil the surprise."

Von Krieger gave his companion a sour smile. "I _hate _surprises; they usually end in explosions and gunfire."

The CIA chief snorted and gave his friend a 'yeah right' look. "Given your former line of work, you _should _be used to it." They paused before the door to their boss' office. "Good luck, Ric. It's been an honor _and_ a pleasure working with you." The tone in Rudman's voice, and his handshake were genuine.

"Thanks Tom, I'll see you later." '_I hope_.' he added mentally. He raised his hand to knock, then paused and looked Rudman in the eye. "If I don't get the opportunity, tell Irina I _didn't_ bail on her... and... that she was _more_ than just a 'good time'."

Rudman nodded. "Don't worry about it, you _will_ get that chance to say good bye to her. Hell, she probably _already knows_ that you're outta here."

'_Thanks for the hint my friend_.' Ric smiled, "Yeah, I guess it _is_ kinda hard to keep secrets in this town." He gave the door two firm knocks and heard a muffled response, "Enter".

Taking a deep breath, Major Von Krieger went in, walked over to the desk of the American Ambassador to Russia, Anthony Braswell, came to a loose version of 'attention' and gave a slight bow. "Good Afternoon, sir. I was told..." He looked back briefly at Rudman, who gave him a cheery smile, a 'bye-bye' wave, and shut the door. "...that you required my presence."

Ambassador Braswell looked up from document he had just finished reading a few minutes ago, and took in the sight of the man before him. He was dressed in a crisp, tailored Class A uniform, a 'wheel cap' under his arm, his chest decorated with numerous service badges, and a sizable block of various ribbons.

He never could understand it all having never served himself, but he knew enough to know that he was looking at a long-serving, (very) decorated veteran officer. His most distinguishing traits were his silvery-gray, close-cropped hair, and vaguely Asiatic 'storm cloud'-gray eyes. The man before him, now his 'former' Military Attache, was staring politely at a portrait of Washington crossing the Delaware, on the wall behind his desk.

Ambassador Braswell cleared his throat. "You know Major Von Krieger, I had serious misgivings when I was told you were being stationed at this Mission, _but_ I'm enough of a man to admit that you proved me, for the most part, wrong, and that the numerous 'unsavory' rumors about you were perhaps... a _bit _exaggerated."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate your candor on the matter." He gave the Ambassador a thin, friendly smile and met his eyes. "However, I got the distinct impression that you didn't summon me for an 'atta boy'." He added a smile to his eyes.

Braswell returned the smile. "No Major, that's _not_ why you're here." He deliberately added a long pause to gauge the man before him; he had been honestly curious how the man in front of him could have garnered _so much _hostility from his contacts in the State Department. Truth be told, some of people he had talked to were _scared to death _of him.

The cold, quiet patience he displayed while waiting for him to get to the point gave him a hint as to Von Krieger's nature. He could see why the man was regarded as a fearsome opponent at the Mission's 'unofficial' weekly poker game. "I have before me orders for your reassignment; apparently you've gained the attention of someone of note. Oddly enough, this is the _first_ reassignment document I've ever seen that has 'redactions' in it." He gave the Major a rueful smile. "You're being sent to a place called Star Gate Command." '_Aha, that got a reaction out of him_', Braswell mentally added.

Von Krieger politely held out his hand. "May I, sir?" Ambassador Braswell handed over the documents with a smile. He quickly leafed through the orders and handed them back. "When do I leave, sir?"

Braswell noted the slight frown on the Major's face. "The Transportation Officer has your ticket and boarding pass for a night flight out of Sheremetyevo International at 11:30 PM. That was the first flight available out of Moscow going directly to Frankfurt, with the connecting flights you'll need that don't require a lengthy wait. From there you'll go to New York, and then on to Denver. I trust that the late departure, and all the transfers won't be too troublesome."

"Not at all, sir. That should give me plenty of time to pack up enough things to get me to my destination in good order." He mentally added, '_And give Irina a 'proper' good-bye_.'

"Excellent." Braswell smiled agreeably and added."By the way, Major. Mr Rudman volunteered to send a 'crew' over to your apartment gather up anything you leave behind and have it sent to you."

"Really? Hmm... that'll make things _much_ easier for me." Von Krieger nodded to himself. "Do make a point of thanking him for me, please."

"Certainly. By the way Major, there's one last item." Braswell reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a small folded paper and handed it to him. "I received this note an hour ago; your co-worker Major Crane gave it to me."

'_What's Jessica got to do with this_?' He wondered and opened the paper; in her neat, clear hand she had written: '_Ollie will be waiting for you. Godspeed and Good Luck, Jessie_'. He refolded the note from the Air Force Liaison Officer and pocketed it.

Ambassador Braswell saw the Major's face transform; for the first time since he had entered his office, Von Krieger relaxed fully and wore an oddly frightening smile. He reflexively moved backwards in his chair. "Something good, I trust?" That 'smile' grew.

"Very." Ric reached into an inner jacket pocket, extracted a pair of tickets and laid them on the Ambassador's desk. "Sadly, I won't be needing these. Please take them as _my_ parting gift, sir. They're box seats for tonight's performance of Swan Lake at the Bolshoi."

Braswell accepted them with a gracious nod. "Thank you Major. My wife will be thrilled to get these."

Major Krieger came to attention and saluted the Ambassador. "It's been a pleasure, sir. Is there anything else?"

"No Major, that will be all." The Ambassador smiled and made a 'shooing' gesture. "You should be on your way. I suspect you have a number of things to _do_ before you leave." He gave the Major a 'knowing' smile.

"Yes sir, I do." He returned the smile, did an 'about face' and exited the office.

===March 30, 9:40 PM, Haruno Household, Konoha===

Sakari Haruno's fumbling for her keys was cut short as the front door opened by her chief housekeeper, Hitomi. She turned to her personal secretary, Kiwako. "Thank you for seeing me home; I'm so sorry I kept you out so late."

Kiwako Fujiwara smiled and bowed. "Not at all Haruno-dono. It was a very important meeting for the company, the dinner not withstanding." She had been in Haruno's employ for almost 6 years now, and had loved every minute of it. Sakari Haruno was the kindest, most generous boss she had ever worked for; she was a hard worker, and expected everyone else to do likewise. However, it paid to be industrious around her. The bonus checks to be had from Tanaka Publishing were legendary... Kiwako had been able to purchase a small, modest house with her savings from 3 checks alone.

The secret to Sakari Haruno's success? Part of it was luck, but it was mostly shrewdness, _and _being intelligent enough to realize that popular, successful authors would always put forth their best effort if there was a handsome return in the offing. Tanaka Publishing had a solid lock on 8 of the top 10 authors in the Elemental Nations; the jewel in her crown being the sole distributor of the wildly popular 'Icha Icha' series. _That _was the true money-maker for her boss' company.

It had most certainly paid for the excellent meal she had gotten at the Kin'iro Hoko (Gold Arrow) Restaurant while keeping an eye on her boss; she had a bad habit of enjoying her sake a bit _too _much... tonight she had behaved herself. At any rate, things went well and Tanaka's #4 author had re-signed for a 5 book contract, yet another coup for the Haruno mini-empire. At any rate, she bowed again and wished her boss good night and headed home.

Making her way to the living room, Sakari turned to the housekeeper. "Did Sakura come home for dinner tonight?" While she really didn't approve of her daughter's career choice, she _had _gotten use to it... and the odd hours she kept. What she didn't expect was the look on Hitomi's face... concern, and worry.

"No Sakari-san, she had come in earlier but left shortly after that." The older woman wrung her hands. "She spends so little time at home these days... and her eyes are always so sad."

Sakari bit her lip, she had spent the better part of the week coaxing that author to renew her contract, and hadn't been home as much as she would have liked. And then there had been the business trip to Kumo before that... she shook her head, annoyed with herself. "I'll make it up to her; I've spent far too much time away from home as of late. Besides, she's been in a funk ever since the Uchiha heir left." She snorted and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. "I _never could _understand what she saw in that boy; granted; he was handsome enough, in a brooding sort of way, but he had _no _real personality to speak of."

"Your pardon ma'am, but I don't think that's the case... this time. I've heard that the Hyuuga heir has been declared missing; and, I recall Sakura-san talking about that mission, the same one that her remaining teammate had been sent on... he's been declared missing as well. It's been the talk of Konoha, but _no one _discusses it publicly for fear of evoking the Hokage's anger over the matter."

"Really." Sakari perked up at that bit of news. "Hmm... perhaps I can use that to get her to _finally _quit this shinobi nonsense." She sat down gracefully on a long sofa. "It is a shame about the Hyuuga girl and all, but this _isn't _the life for Sakura-chan." She frowned at the memories of her lovely child coming home dirty and bruised from her training. "They _never _appreciated Sakura's intellect, _ever. _No, they were far more intent on turning her into a killer instead."

Hitomi bit her lip and held her peace. She remembered with clarity, the tired pride in Sakura's eyes when she finally came home after the terrible events surrounding the Chuunin Exams. No, the adorable little child she had helped raise since infancy was gone; in her place was a kunoichi of Konoha. Something she understood all too well, having risen to the rank of Chuunin herself... before her injuries, gotten in the Third Shinobi War, had forced her to retire.

No. She had seen the look in Sakura's eyes this very day... and it worried her to no end.

===April 2, 10:02 AM, P3X-375===

"I am soooo bored, this is like a D-Rank mission... no, this is _worse_, I'd rather chase that stupid cat, or paint someone's fence." Naruto muttered, standing by Hinata under a tree that they had halted at for a few minutes.

Hinata giggled at his comment. "Naruto, they told us this happens a lot, they can't _all_ be like our last mission that put us here."

Naruto sighed. "Hai, I _know_... but this is like our _first_ mission... it's like we're starting all over again!" Naruto replied, throwing up his arms in exasperation.

Sam spun on her heel to face him, and continued to walk backwards. "Actually, you _are_ Naruto. It's not that we don't trust you or think you _can't_ handle yourselves, but we have rules too... _and_ you are technically 'guests' from another world."

Naruto pouted and nodded, then his head snapped up and he smiled. "If we're looking for people and stuff... how about I make a couple hundred Shadow Clones and send 'em out in every direction. If they find something, they can dispel and I'll know right away. Besides, what we just walked, I can do jumping through trees in no time at all. Plus, you still have Hinata-chan's eyes."

Sam turned about again to face Col. O'Neill and grinned. "That's a good idea sir, Naruto's clones can safely search a lot more ground than we can, and _faster_ too. Plus if something does happen, the real Naruto will be here with us."

"This forest does seem to go on for miles and we haven't seen _any _signs that anyone lives here." Daniel added.

"I agree." Teal'c concurred.

Jack halted and scanned the surrounding trees. "Yeah... I was getting bored myself." Jack locked eyes with Naruto. "Okay, we'll call this a training exercise... make 100 clones and send them in every direction to scout, but if they find _anything_, they're to _stay hidden_, and if needed, they 'pop out' and let you know, got it?"

"Hai.. um, I mean, yes sir." Naruto said with a smile, and then made his favorite hand sign. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" A hundred shadow clones 'poofed' into existence; they all saluted then leapt off into the trees surrounding the clearing.

Jack shook his head, still amazed by that jutsu. "_That_ is so cool."

Naruto smiled proudly, watching his clones disappear into the forest... then the utility of the uniforms he and Hinata had been given hit him. He nodded to himself as he noted that they blended in so well that even he couldn't see them once they had gotten more than 20 yards away. He noted to himself, '_Maybe I should ask Jack about what else they have for hiding like that_.'

"I want to help too, is there anything I can do?" Hinata added, a hopeful look on her face.

Naruto asked. "Is there any water nearby? I'm thirsty."

Sam added. "And I could take some water samples to analyze later; there may be some useful chemicals or minerals here." Sam made a circling motion with her finger. "Hinata, would you take a look about for us?"

Hinata smiled and nodded, then removed her sunglasses. "_Byakuugan_!" She scanned the area for a few moments. "There's a large stream about 200 yards that way and..." Hinata reported, then suddenly stopped, gasped and deactivated her Doujutsu. "I found something!" Hinata exclaimed.

Sam turned towards the young kunoichi. "What is it Hinata?"

Hinata pointed to her '10 o'clock' direction. "A cave hidden by a large tree; the entrance is hidden to look like the trunk of the tree."

Jack did a quick 360 scan. "Teal'c, Naruto, stay here. Hinata, show us where it is."

"I wanna go too. I'll make some clones to stay here with Teal'c... you might need me, and I have to make sure _nothing_ happens to Hinata-chan! Besides... I'm a ninja; I was trained to do this _and_ find traps." Naruto asked, almost begging.

"Naruto-kun is better at traps than I am, and he _is_ the best prankster in the whole village... even our ANBU have trouble catching him." Hinata added, hoping to keep Naruto by her side.

Sam saw the looks on Hinata, and Naruto's faces. She easily sensed that separating them would _not _sit well with either of them. "She has a point sir... and his skills are perfect for something like this, especially with Hinata along since they work well together already, and they can do things we _can't_."

Jack saw the look on Sam's face; it was time to 'go with the flow'. "Fine, you can come, but remember, _I'm_ in charge."

Hinata hid her grin quickly; in her mind, a mini-Hinata was cheering and dancing around at the thought of going on a mission with Naruto BY HERSELF!

===6 Minutes Later===

Jack stared at the dark hollow at the base of the huge tree. "So, how do we get in?"

"I'll check... _Byakuugan_!" Hinata responded, scanning the tree, and around the hidden door a few moments, then gasped and deactivated it.

Naruto saw the look of surprise on her face. "What is it Hinata, something wrong?"

Hinata shook her head in wonder. "I don't know _how_... but there's a chakra seal on the door."

Sam frowned at expression on Hinata's face... _something _was seriously bothering her. "Are you sure Hinata?"

Hinata nodded slowly. "I am... _and_ I recognize it as one of the... The seals of the Six Masters." Hinata's voice was filled with awe and respect.

"Who?" Naruto replied, totally confused.

"As a Clan heiress it was part of my private studies..." She shook her head in disbelief. "They were supposed to be _just legends. _I was taught they were more powerful than _any_ of the Kage's up to now; and, that they supposedly created the five Elemental Nations with jutsu's rumored to of been able to literally move mountains and split the oceans. Each of them is also said to of had a weapon and Summoning Contract more powerful than _anything_ we have today." Hinata explained, pausing briefly to recall her lessons on the subject.

"Before they vanished, it was said that they hid their weapons and Summoning scrolls in lands far beyond the reach of any shinobi... I _think_ they used the Stargate that we came through to hide them on different worlds... And this is _one_ of them." Hinata added, shaking slightly.

"Could they have of been the Ancients?" Jack asked, shifting his gaze to Daniel.

Daniel shrugged. "_Maybe_... we know they were on Earth thousands of years ago; they _could_ have done the same on their world since they did create the Stargates."

Jack narrowed his eyes and asked, "So this 'chakra seal'... do _either_ of you know how to break one of those?"

Naruto replied first. "Jiraiya-sensei is the best Seal Master in the world, but he didn't teach me about them, only how to do the Rasengan."

"Um... I don't think we have to break it." Hinata added, slightly nervous.

"Why not?' Jack asked.

"We have seals like this on certain areas on the Hyuuga mansion, it's just like a lock. We just need chakra to open it... but I don't know if it needs a certain pattern, _or_ just chakra to show that I'm a shinobi like them. I'll try though." Hinata explained, then stepped closer to it.

"No, _I'll_ do it." Naruto said firmly. Hinata froze the instant he said no. "You belong to a big Clan and have a family... I'm a nobody... besides, if it _is_ a trap, I'm harder to kill. I won't let you do this Hinata-chan, and that's final." Naruto matter-of-factly announced.

Hinata stirred and took a step forward. "But..."

"No." Naruto replied fiercely. "I _won't_ let you get hurt if I can do anything about it... please Hinata-chan, step back. Trust me, I _can _do this."

Hinata looked at him, specifically his eyes and knew that look by heart... he wasn't going to back down over this matter.

Sam frowned. "Are you sure? We have other..."

"He'll do it." Hinata interrupted, slightly shocking her new friends. "Naruto-kun has _never_ failed to do anything when he's protecting his friends... Naruto is known by _everyone_ as being able to do the impossible." Hinata stated, her face and voice filled with pride. "I trust Naruto. Please do like-wise."

Naruto gave Hinata his best smile and saw her blush a little. "Thanks Hinata-chan. Everyone get back, I don't know what'll happen."

"Be careful Naruto." Jack said, then motioned to Sam and Hinata to fall back with him. He watched Naruto as he slowly advanced on the door. He'd seen a lot things in his time with SG1, not to mention all the crazy, 'I don't believe that worked' plans he'd seen his team pull off. His gut said 'trust him, he can do it' and he had learned to listen to that feeling.

Naruto pointed to a spot on the tree and glanced at Hinata for confirmation that it was the location of the seal. After she nodded, he put his hand there and pushed his chakra into the seal, bracing himself for anything. He hated to admit it, but for once he was counting HEAVILY on Kyuubi to protect him. Well, it _had_ said 'give me a chance' and 'I want to help you'. Naruto took a deep breath and muttered, "Here's your chance, Kyuubi, _don't_ let me down."

His thoughts and feelings weren't being ignored by Kyuubi, whose mind was racing at a pace that would over-load an ordinary human brain. She was ready to step in and instantly transform Naruto into his 'one-tailed' form, at the very least, since her chakra cloak would protect him. And, even if the cost was the loss of his trust forever, she was ready with 4 tails worth of chakra to pour into him; not for herself, but for him.

Naruto suddenly fell to the ground, breaking contact with the seal. Jack, Sam and especially Hinata, who reached him first, rushed to his side.

===A Moment Ago, Naruto's Mindscape===

"**You've grown Kyuubi-chan. Have no fear, I will **_**not **_**harm him. That seal was a test of his worthiness... and he passed. The girl **_**must**_** enter with him, **_**and no one else**_**. I know of their plan to learn Jutsu from scanning his mind. There is something he **_**must**_** tell her so please listen as I won't be able to speak to you again like this...**" A powerful female voice spoke, coming from everywhere at once.

Kyuubi was awestruck by the powerful, yet welcoming, feminine voice... and _something_ about it was _very _familiar. She listened closely to what the 'voice' told she had to do.

===Real World===

Naruto opened his eyes, saw Hinata's face, and smiled. "I'm okay Hinata... except for a little headache."

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata exclaimed happily after he opened his eyes, smiled at her and spoke. Forgetting herself for a moment, she pulled him up into an almost sitting position and hugged him tightly, her body pressed against him, her head on his right shoulder. "I _knew_ you could do it Naruto-kun." Hinata sobbed happily into his ear.

Naruto hugged her back, but as he did, he couldn't help but notice how much the same it felt when he had hugged Tsunade. The feeling of her chest against his was almost identical to Tsunade's. Naruto pushed those thoughts aside, even if he was right about her, this wasn't the time or place, and if she was hiding something, he'd respect that. She would tell him when she was ready.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

Naruto broke the hug and then with a small assist from Hinata, stood up. "The seal was a test, and I passed. I heard a lady's voice in my head. She said that _only_ Hinata and me can go in because there are some tests we have to pass to get to what's inside."

Jack glanced at the entranceway. "Ninjas only huh?"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, something like that, but we can pass those tests easy, come on Hinata... its Ninja Time!" Naruto said as he punched the air, a big smile on his face.

Hinata giggled at some of the 'old' Naruto peeking out.

Jack smirked. "Just be careful in there."

"Hai." Hinata replied with a small bow.

"I'm always careful." Naruto declared, then opened the door and after a brief glance entered, followed by Hinata. They went down a steep flight of stairs that finally ended about 50 feet down into a long corridor. Despite not seeing anything to make it so, the passageway was well lit. "Hinata, can you see any traps?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Byakuugan." Hinata said softly, and then scanned the arrow-straight, hundred yard-long passageway to what appeared to be a door at its end. "I can't see through the walls, floor, or the ceiling. There must be a seal against jutsu and Bloodline-Limits involved... but I _can_ see that there's chakra infused into everything, that's what's providing the light... wait, I see something." Hinata reported.

Naruto sighed when she said she couldn't see through _any _of the softly glowing surfaces; he perked up when she mentioned that she noticed something. Her Byakuugan still active she walked over to the right-hand wall and ran her hands over it like... she was reading something; he couldn't see _anything_, just a smooth stone wall. "What is it?"

"Instructions for the first test... I think." Hinata replied in a soft voice.

===Outside===

"It must be shielded sir, I can still reach Teal'c but there's no response from Naruto or Hinata. And if I'm right, our weapons probably won't function either." Sam explained. She fingered her comm unit nervously.

Jack asked. "Like that cave with Thor's Hammer Teal'c and I were stuck in with the Unas?"

"Yes sir, I think so, but the energy here is probably more specific in nature, so only ninja can pass the tests." Sam replied.

===March 31, 7:52 AM, Training Ground 14, Konoha===

Sakura walked up to the center post; she suddenly slowed, a solemn expression on her face. She stopped 3 feet from it and looked down at the grass in front of it like it was the most sacred place in the World... and in her mind, it was. "Naruto-kun sat there." Sakura whispered, then glanced at the post where she'd been tied.

Sakura cringed at the memory of that moment and looked away in shame. After a long pause she took a kunai from her weapon pouch, stepped up to the post and raised the kunai high.

===6:57 PM===

It had caught his eye as he was passing. As he moved closer, he had no doubts as to whom it belonged to, especially after he saw the post... specifically, 'his' post. Stuck deep in the post just below the top was a kunai, tied to the ring at the end was a familiar red ribbon. Below it, a message was carved into the post.

x Message x

**In Memory of**

**Naruto Uzumaki**

**He was**

**loud,**

**annoying,**

**reckless,**

**and never**

**broke a promise**

**to a friend.**

**My mistake...**

**I made him promise.**

**Sakura Haruno**

x End Message x

Kakashi's eyes moved from the message to the long ribbon fluttering in the wind, then back to the words carved into the post. There was a part of him that was pleased that his remaining student had finally realized the awful possibilities that request could lead to. However, another part of him was disappointed that his remaining Genin _hadn't _come to him to discuss the matter.

Then his frequent admonition to 'look underneath the underneath' pricked at him. "Damn." Then, the accumulated memories of Sakura's shift in behavior since Naruto had been declared missing washed over him. "Damn." This time the word came out softly, as much a reproof to him, as it was a curse word. His eyes hardened as he knelt down and made the necessary hand signs and uttered a single word. "Summon." The following (large) puff of smoke dispelled to reveal 8 dogs of various types and sizes.

The smallest of them, atop the head of the fiercest-looking one raised his paw in greeting. "**Yo boss, what's up?**"

Kakashi nodded to himself, and promised silently, '_No, not again. I will not let it happen again_.' He eye-smiled at his assembled pack. "A mission. A _very important _mission."

===April 2, 10:14 AM, P3X-375, The Underground Temple===

"So, we have to walk like spiders to pass?" Naruto asked, doing his best to think like his Sensei... it was harder than he thought. He shrugged and made a Shadow Clone. It got down on its hands and feet, limbs bent out to the side and 'spider walked' down the floor of the passageway; 10 yards from the base of the stairs the clone dropped from sight when the floor suddenly vanished from that point... all the way to the 90 yard mark. His clone dispelled a few moments later. He whistled softly. "There's _no_ bottom."

"I think it means we have to walk on the walls or ceiling to reach the end." Hinata suggested helpfully... with a tiny smile.

"Oh... Well that makes sense, and easy enough for us to do." Naruto replied, and walked up to the edge and stepped up onto the right wall, followed by Hinata. Going first, he advanced by himself for the first 3 yards past the edge. When nothing happened, he motioned her forward. At a careful, measured pace, they made their way down the passageway. Just before they reached the halfway point, the walls from the middle to the end of the pit vanished, like the floor had.

"Oh come _on_!" Naruto muttered, frustrated at the annoyingly simple, but deadly tricks being thrown at them.

She reached forward and lightly squeezed his arm. "It's okay Naruto, we'll just switch to the ceiling." Hinata smiled confidently. "Just make sure your pockets are closed." '_And my coat will stay in place._' Hinata mentally added as she subtly checked certain things.

Naruto checked his pockets then moved to the ceiling, sticking to it with his chakra; Hinata doing likewise. Both of them quickly moved to the end of the corridor before something else happened, and then flipped down onto the remaining floor. A moment later the door slid down into the floor before them; they both passed over the threshold and found themselves in a large room, about 30 by 30 feet, with a 20-foot ceiling.

"Now what do we do? Can you see any more of those instructions Hinata?" Naruto asked, glancing about the featureless chamber.

x

End Chapter 4

x

Author's Note: Okay, I've waited 4 chapters for this. I want to give MAJOR props to Obakeinu-9.11; because without him, honestly, this fic wouldn't be a quarter as good as it is. His ideas and help on the military, and many other, issues have been incredible, and honestly, I can't put in words how important his help has been, and will continue to be. All OC's, non-canon places/events and storylines in both 'Naruto' and 'Stargate: SG1', are the property of MikeJV37 and/or Obakeinu-9.11.

There's a new Poll up in my profile for this fic.

Chapter 5 will be posted in 2 weeks, on Dec 15, 2011


	5. Unleashed, Strength Beyond Strength

NinjaGate

Unleashed, Strength Beyond Strength

By: MikeJV37

x

===April 2, 10:14 AM, P3X-375, The Underground Temple===

"Now what do we do? Can you see any more of those instructions Hinata?" Naruto asked, glancing around._. _

Hinata used the 'okay' hand-sign that Sam had taught her. "I'll see if I can find them."

Without any warning, Naruto heard Kyuubi's voice in his head as everything around him seemingly slowed down for just that moment. He didn't like what he was hearing, but he was assured that it _had_ to be done. '_You better be right about this._' Naruto added after everything reverted to normal, mentally grumbling at what the Kyuubi had requested of him.

===Naruto's Mindscape, A moment ago===

Standing inside her cage in her hybrid form, Kyuubi activated her newly forged intercom-style link between her cage, and Naruto's conscious mind. Having him continually zone out wasn't good, and she needed to stay hidden for now. If she was right about that redhead... the one that she thought resembled her, lucky bitch, she'd keep what she saw secret until Naruto was ready to share. She could read humans easily, and she, along with the few others Naruto had regular contact with, were trustworthy.

"**Naruto... Forgive me for doing this, but it **_**has **_**to be done. I'll explain later, but for the moment please trust me, and listen very carefully. The voice you heard briefly when you opened the seal on the tree, was only part of it; she spoke mainly to me. There's a rhyme on the wall Hinata will find in a moment, it's about her and this test, but you must not say **_**anything**_**, at least for now. I'll tell you when, and how to tell her, later.**"

"_Okay, this is your chance to prove that I should trust you._" Naruto replied, using his new link to the bijuu.

"**You must cross the room. In the center you'll be trapped and will suffer greatly... and, I'll be cut off from you. Please, whatever happens... you must not give up. Most importantly, you **_**must**_** give Hinata your strength and support... I **_**can't **_**say any more than that. Do you understand what to do?**" The Kyuubi explained, then got a little nervous when he didn't reply right away.

'_Yes.' _Naruto let out a deep breath. _'Alright, I'll do it... for Hinata._'

===Present, The Underground Temple===

"Byakuugan." Hinata said softly, then scanned the room. Just as it had been in the hallway, she couldn't see through anything, a feeling she wasn't use to, but she was adjusting to the limitation. Hinata smiled as she spotted more chakra writing on the wall behind them, just to the right of the door they had entered through. "I found it Naruto." Hinata announced, then moved closer to read the words. "It doesn't make sense." Hinata added, slowly shaking her head in confusion.

Naruto glanced back at her. "What's it say?"

"It's a rhyme... 'Strength is the beast locked in Fear's Tower, Love is the Key that releases its Power'." Hinata replied.

"That's weird... does that mean we have to fight something?" Naruto replied, acting confused by the rhyme's message.

Recalling Kyuubi's instructions, he turned to face the center of the room. "There's probably something on the other side of the room; I'll go check it out, you stay here. This reminds me of the first test in the Chuunin Exams; we're missing something... I can feel it." Naruto explained, then started across the room.

Hinata nodded then watched him a moment before turning back to the wall. '_Maybe it's hidden by a Genjutsu, Kurenai-sensei said I have a talent for them._' Hinata thought, then made the proper hand sign in front of her chest. To properly use the release technique she had been taught, she focused her full attention on the wall before her.

Naruto's scream echoed around the room. Hinata froze in horror for a moment, realizing she wasn't watching Naruto as she should of been. She spun around as the bright light registered in her mind. Naruto was in that beam of bright, white light, streaming down from the ceiling. She cried out, "Naruto-kun!" and ran to his side.

"**Stop.**" A powerful female voice commanded.

Hinata froze in place a few feet short of Naruto's position.

===Inside the Light===

'_Oh Kami this hurts... it, it's like being on fire inside! Kyuubi's chakra didn't hurt this much on the Wave mission when I fought Haku in that Ice Mirror jutsu..._' Naruto thought, then an agonized scream was ripped from his mouth; he just couldn't hold all the pain in. '_This better be worth it you furball!_' Naruto thought angrily, though it was from the pain, he wasn't really mad at Kyuubi... yet.

In her cage, Kyuubi had been forced back into her bijuu form, chains of white light tying her down and cutting her off from Naruto... she flinched at his comment, and being called furball again... unless it was a playful term for her vixenhood. Part of her doubted he'd ever see her _that _way. That nickname cut her deeply, as if he was branding her as his slave. But if that was her fate, or the price she had to pay for Naruto to be happy with Hinata... so be it. She'd do anything to make up for how he'd been treated because of her... anything.

She despaired as she remembered all the cruel, violent, and hateful things that she had said, and done to Naruto... his parents, and to his precious village. All of _it_ compelled by _that _jutsu... and that vile, beast of a man. All of the pain and regret now flooding through her was made all the worse by the fact that...

Long ago, she had forgotten how to cry.

===The Underground Temple===

"**He is tainted and must be purified.**" The voice spoke again. A section of wall directly across from the door slid open silently, showing another, smaller room. Just inside of it was a 3 foot high stone column. Sitting atop it was a large jewel, surrounded by a blue light coming from within it. "**Leave him and you may take the jewel.**"

"N, No... I won't leave Naruto, keep it and let us _go_." Hinata responded, bravely battling with the fear gripping her heart.

"**That, I cannot do. You, however, may leave this place unharmed... but he must stay and be purified.**"

Hinata shook with fear for a long moment as she looked at Naruto, trapped within the column of light like a bug in a jar; his screams of pain tore at her heart. "No." She replied softly, the contest with her fear far from over.

"**Then you leave me no choice.**" The entrance to the room suddenly shut and 2, 10 foot sections centered on each wall opened, from ceiling to floor, revealing hundreds of small holes in each one.

Hinata gasped when she saw what looked like the tips of senbon appear in every hole, then the light vanished and Naruto fell to the floor. "No!" Hinata shouted, and lunged forward, dropping to her left knee, looking down at his face. He was awake, but she'd never seen him look so weak, and so... pale. His chakra signature had dimmed; the red chakra she usually saw traces of were gone. She knew that was what had always healed him, and made him strong. Now it looked like he was... dying. Tears poured from her eyes.

"Don't move Naruto-kun, I..." Hinata said, full of fear.

"Don't be afraid Hinata... I believe in you." Naruto replied in a weak, raspy voice and smiled weakly.

Hinata jerked as his words struck something deep in her mind... then she felt it, welling up within her like a tsunami; her tears ceased. "I'll protect you Naruto... I promise." Hinata answered with a gentle, loving voice; she lightly touched his face.

(A/N: Starts playing 'You got The Touch' in the background)

Hinata raised her head. "I don't care _who_ you are..." Hinata said in an eerily calm voice and stood; the gentleness on her face faded, replaced by a mask of icy rage. "NO ONE WILL TAKE NARUTO FROM ME! PROTECTION: 8 TRIGRAMS, 64 PALMS!" Hinata roared as she stood over Naruto's chest, straddling him, her voice crackling with power as thousands of senbon were fired at them in wave after wave... Hinata destroyed them all before they got within 8 feet of her or Naruto, her arms moving with a speed and fluidity that would have sent Hiashi to his knees in awe.

Never in her life had Hinata felt like this; any sense of doubt, or fear, that had gripped her for as long as she could remember, had vanished. The sensation of power now coursing through her was far beyond anything she'd ever felt heretofore. She'd never pushed herself so hard up to now, nor felt so focused. She could see every senbon clearly, and flawlessly kept them from reaching her, or Naruto. To her, they were all moving in slow motion.

At this singular moment of her existence, neither her life, nor her personal safety mattered... she was going to protect Naruto, regardless of the cost to herself.

Naruto looked up at her with lidded eyes, the timid Hinata Hyuuga he'd always known... was no more. What she was doing now was THE most incredible thing he'd ever seen in his life; he'd _never _had anyone fight so hard to protect him... EVER. What she was doing looked like Neji's ultimate technique; the one he had used on him during their match in the final round of the Chuunin Exams. But rather than the spinning defense Neji had unleashed, her version seemed more like a solid barrier of chakra. He was sure that she was using chakra to stop all those things from reaching them; he just wished he could clearly see what she was doing.

However, what neither Hinata or Naruto noticed, was the subtle, almost silvery, shimmering of Hinata's normally white eyes.

After 3 minutes of continuous firing, the barrage of senbon halted and the walls closed back up, leaving no race of their previous state. Hinata ended her jutsu, (the shimmer in her eyes faded as well) but she maintained her guard. She was beyond exhausted and just wanted to fall over and go to sleep, but she fought it, drawing on yet more strength that she didn't know she possessed.

"**Once more, you pass.**" The voice declared.

(End song)

A blue light surrounded her and Naruto; Hinata looked down when Naruto gasped, as if catching his breath. A moment later he looked normal, his chakra back to full strength. "Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, her sweaty face showed her usually hidden feelings.

===Naruto's Mindscape===

The chains holding Kyuubi down and sealing her power, suddenly vanished. She instantly re-established her normal link with Naruto, and scanned his recent memories... a monstrous smile crossed her muzzle, nearly ear to ear... in pure joy. Without a moment of hesitation she pumped as much of her chakra back into Naruto as the seal would safely allow, though she doubted it was needed... better to ask forgiveness than permission.

===Underground Temple===

"You were awesome Hinata-chan... that was the coolest jutsu I've _ever_ seen... did you create it? I didn't think Neji knew it, or he'd of cut me into little pieces if he had." Naruto said with awe and pride at what she'd done. '_If Neji had seen this during your match... he would of peed his pants and run away screaming like a little girl._' Naruto thought, amused at the mental image, and smiled.

Hinata saw his familiar happy smile. "Um... Hai, I created it." She said with growing pride as her strength finally gave out.

Naruto noticed her coat was clinging to her a little more than normal, hinting at what was hidden beneath like a present. Well... maybe a SMALL push was okay. "I kinda like laying here enjoying the view and all, but would you mind moving so I can get up?" Naruto said with a playful smirk, his eyes glancing up at certain areas of her body.

Hinata looked down and realized she was basically straddling Naruto's shoulders WITH HER LEGS SPREAD AND WEARING SWEATY CLOTHES THAT STUCK TO HER BODY. Her eyes got big as saucers and her face turned a shade of red that would make the most beautiful roses in the world instantly die on the vine from shame... and fainted.

Naruto caught her, luckily she'd collapsed basically straight backwards.

"**Lay her down and step back, I will fully restore her; then you may both claim your rewards and return to the surface... and thank you.**"

Naruto smiled to himself, then did as the voice asked. The blue light came down again, this time on Hinata, after a few moments it faded and she opened her eyes. "Feel better?"

Hinata nodded in reply, not trusting herself, or her voice at the moment. He gave her that familiar foxy grin, then extended his hand. To her utter amazement, she accepted it without a trace of hesitation, and let him pull her to her feet.

Suddenly it struck her, the moment she had dreamt of for so long had finally arrived. She stood a hands-breath away from her only heart's desire, her hand joined with his... free of the anxiety and doubt that had always had her firmly in its grasp. She squeezed his hand gently and released it knowing that she would never hesitate to touch it again. "Thank you, Naruto." she said with a gentle smile.

"The voice said we could get our rewards, and leave... I guess they're in that room over there." Naruto explained, returning her smile. He pointed to the open door where the jewel was resting, then turned and walked straight towards it.

Hinata waited until he'd fully turned away before she did a full stretch and looked down at her chest; her clothes were dry and clean again. She smiled and sighed softly before following Naruto to their hard-won prize.

They stopped just inside the room. Before them was the stone column with, as they could now see, a pale blue, pear-shaped diamond the size of an adult's fist. About 4 feet to the left of it was another stone column, but on that one was a scroll.

Naruto grinned with excitement. "I want the scroll!" He was hoping it had some super-jutsu within it.

Hinata giggled at the look on his face; this was the Naruto she knew and loved.

"**The scroll is yours Naruto Uzumaki... but the gem belongs to you, Hinata Hyuuga. Both are tools of great power. They will show you how to use them, when the time is right. Use them wisely. Use them with hearts free of hate.**"

They nodded, walked up to their items, and with only a brief pause, took them. When nothing happened they put them into their large pants pockets and re-closed them.

"This has been _fun_, but... I wanna get out of here." Naruto said with a sarcastic accent on fun, then smiled.

Hinata giggled and nodded, she couldn't wait to tell them what she'd done. She'd have to ask Naruto to send a message to Kurenai for her; she owed that to her Sensei, and surrogate mother.

===10:25 AM, Tunnel Entrance===

"WE DID IT!" Naruto loudly proclaimed as he stepped out into the, very welcome, sunlight.

Jack, sitting in the shade with Sam, sharply turned his head as he aimed his FN P90 at the sound, sighed, smiled and lowered his weapon.

"Naruto you shouldn't do that, there might be someone around." Sam interrupted Jack before he said something.

Hinata started laughing, her face turning red.

Jack and Sam glanced at each other, both of them noticing the change in Hinata.

"Naruto-kun has always been like that." Hinata said, her new-found confidence coming through.

Naruto gave them that foxy smile and rubbed the back of his head with both hands. "Sorry... I just wanted out of there because I wanted to tell you we both got something cool... and Hinata-chan was AWESOME!"

Hinata blushed, smiling slightly. "Can we tell them about that later, please Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Hinata slightly confused, but bragging just didn't sound like her. "Okay Hinata-chan."

"Is there anything else here?" Jack asked.

"Nope, just that place. So, can we go back now?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Sam pondered his request for moment. "Dispel your clones, the ones you sent out to scout the area..." She tapped her fingers on her P90 in thought. "...let's say 5 at a time, and then we'll decide."

"Okay." Naruto said then dispelled the first 5, let the new information sink in, then shook his head to clear it. He repeated the process until the last group was dispelled. He looked at Jack and Sam and shrugged. "None of my clones saw anything but trees, small birds, and lots of strange-looking animals. There's nothing in a... uh, I'm no good at this stuff. Hinata, how far could I go in... how long has it been?"

Sam looked at her watch. "I'd say about half an hour."

Hinata scrunched up her face, cutely, as she thought about it a few moments. "Did any of your clones pass the clearing with the Stargate?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'd say it was about..." He thought about it for a moment. "I think about 20 minutes after they all took off."

Jack's and Sam's eyes widened in shock.

"_Wow_, that's... fast." Jack said.

"That's about 10 miles back... and you covered that in 20 _minutes_? So, if you went 10 miles in 20 minutes..." Sam said, almost excitedly, as she went into science mode.

Jack recognized that expression on her face. "Sam..." Jack interrupted. "Just cut to the chase."

"Sorry sir, In half an hour Naruto's clones searched an area of over 2,800 square miles... he was moving about 30 miles an hour sir." She mulled over the math of Naruto's 'feat'. "He single-handedly covered about a fifth of the area a UAV would cover in the same amount of time, that's... _incredible_." Sam explained, obviously very impressed.

"A what?" Naruto asked, confused.

Jack chuckled and picked up a large twig; he began scratching letters in the dirt. "An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, a UAV is it's shortened name." He pointed to each letter in turn. "It's called an acronym, you just use the first letter of all the words to make a shorter word... like your ANBU. In your report to us, when you guys first arrived at SGC, you wrote it as all capital letters; so, on your world they apparently do the same thing."

"OH!" Naruto said, then rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He added a nervous chuckle to that when Jack tapped his patrol cap with that same twig in a gesture that Naruto knew from his Academy days, and a usually patient Iruka-sensei... the one that meant 'think'.

Jack waved his twig about, then pointing it in the direction of the Stargate. "Back to the matter at hand; _you _may not regard it as a big deal, but _we _do. Normally, people travel less than 30 miles in a day. _You _did it in less than an _hour._"

"Well, it's easy with big trees like these, jumping from branch to branch is a lot faster than running usually, and it uses less chakra." Naruto glanced up at the trees. "Kakashi-sensei taught us that the mission, and the route we travel, decides the path we take, and the speed we go at." He smiled to himself as he recalled the image of his easy-going sensei... with his nose in his favorite book.

Hinata sat down on a convenient tree root and shared a smile with Sam as she watched a normally hyper Naruto sitting before Jack, being thoughtful and about as serious as one could expect... from Naruto.

Naruto explained further. "I can do that for 4 or 5 hours usually, before I have to stop to rest and eat something. If I go all out, I can almost double that speed... I think; but I can only do it like an hour, 2 at most before I crash." Naruto stated with pride, he loved how impressed they were by that.

They didn't need to know, at least not yet, why he was nearly as strong as the average Jonin, without using his gift as Iruka and the old man called it, after he'd found out about Kyuubi from Mizuki.

===Naruto's Mindscape===

In her cage, Kyuubi flinched as each regret she possessed washed over her. She swore to herself, again, that if she ever met that Uchiha bastard that had used her like she was some mindless weapon, she'd kill him... she just had to find a way around that damned Sharingan. She laid her head on the stone floor and whimpered quietly, her eyes closed... They suddenly snapped open when she felt a hand brush her neck.

"**You've suffered enough. For selflessly helping Naruto... you deserve a reward.**" The woman spoke, her voice and touch promising an ending to her many years of torment.

Kyuubi lifted and turned her massive head to the source of the familiar voice she'd heard, several times, coming from deeper within the seal than even she could go, and smiled as finally she recognized the woman.

===A Moment Later, Real World===

Hinata brushed her hand over the bulge in her thigh pocket; she smiled at the possibilities it might hold. She rose from the large tree root she had sitting on, listening to Jack patiently trying to explain to Naruto the workings of his P90. "We should go back to Teal'c and Daniel-san now, they might be worried about us."

Hinata added. "Oh, and since it should be safe now, I'll close the entrance. I think I can reseal it with a small amount of chakra if it's like the seals at home." She looked at them a moment to be sure they were all in accord with her decision, then closed the large stone door. Placing her hand on the seal in it's center, she pushed some of her chakra into it; she felt it firmly shut. She announced, "It's sealed again."

As they walked back to their campsite and it came into view, Naruto noted his clones were all still there. Some of them were listening to Daniel giving a mini-lecture on one of many favorite subjects, as usual; and others were making themselves useful in various ways. The remaining three were sparring with Teal'c... and barely holding their own.

Naruto's first reaction at the sight of his clone's antics was to smile, then he realized that the scene, given what had happened in the past, was _not _normal. Naruto's smile morphed into a frown; he focused his mind and called out to his guest. '_Hey Kyuubi... why didn't my clones dispel when I was trapped in that light? Usually when something happens to me they all dispel, but all the clones I made stayed... do ya know why?_'

"**I've been thinking about that... you were cut off from my chakra, and most of your chakra was drained. Normally, they **_**should**_** of dispelled, but if they had, their combined knowledge hitting you all at once would of most likely killed you, **_**or**_** severely damaged your brain." **She paused, her tails swishing in thought.** "I think 'she' maintained your link with them to **_**protect you. **_**And before you say it, I know you've lost that many clones before, more in fact, but that was usually over the span of about 5 seconds. However, **_**this**_** time it would have been a flood of well over a 100 memories in one go. Remember that point, because they **_**will**_** ask you about it.**" Kyuubi replied and smiled with pleasure. For the very first time, he'd come to her for advice and treated her with... a measure of respect, not like a snarling monster, hostile to his well-being.

===March 31, 9:30 AM, Yamanaka Flowers, Konoha===

Ino looked up from the clan jutsu scroll she had studying. Unexpectedly, her father had literally dropped it in her lap last night, and told her to study it closely. To her surprise, and delight, it was the very same one she had been badgering him to let her read for several weeks now. She rolled it up and put it under the counter, then focused on the customer that the door's bell had announced. "Good morning, welcome to Yamanaka's..."

The customer welcoming chant dropped off as she recognized the older woman that had just entered. Ino smiled warmly, "Good morning, Hitomi-obasama, what can I do for you?" Do you need another of our special flower arrangements like last time? 

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Ino-san." The brown-haired woman bowed politely; she was wearing a simple black kimono, secured with a brown obi. With a slow, but steady gait, she moved to counter. She bowed again, her face neutral, but her eyes told another story. "Ino-san, may I ask you a question?"

For reasons yet clear to her, Ino's stomach tightened up. "Of course, Hitomi-obasama."

"Are you and Sakura-chan still friends?"

The question totally caught her off-guard; for a moment Ino was speechless. "Of course we are! Why would you even ask such a question?" She shook her head. "I realize that it's been ages since I've come to visit her, but everything has been so unsettled lately."

Ino paused, her mind racing. She knew about Naruto and Hinata's missing status but hadn't seen Sakura since that day. She had tried to hunt her childhood friend down, but she had made herself as scarce as only a shinobi could. It had worried her to be sure, but the increased demands on her team had kept her from following up on that matter. She felt a twinge of shame as she realized that she had let Sakura down... badly.

Ino took a deep breath, stood up straight, and locked eyes with the older woman. "Tell me what's been going on."

===11:43 AM, SGC===

After the wormhole closed, Gen Hammond went up the ramp to meet them part way. "Report." He asked firmly, curious as to why they had come back so soon.

"Well, we saw a lot of trees; Hinata found a Temple hidden underground by ancient super ninjas. Then they explored it because we couldn't go in, and they each found an artifact, talked to a strange disembodied voice... Oh, and we found out that Naruto can cover about 10 miles in about 20 minutes by jumping on tree branches. You know, the usual boring stuff, nothing special." Jack said with a totally straight face.

Gen Hammond's eyebrow twitched for a moment, then he got serious. "Report to the Infirmary."

Naruto whined and dropped his head, highly annoyed, then openly sad at being sent to the one place in SGC that made him uneasy, even though he liked Fraiser-sensei.

Jack nudged Naruto's arm gently with a knowing smile. "I told you so."

Hinata giggled, then led Naruto by the hand out of the room with SG1 following them, Jack, Sam and Daniel all grinning at the sight of shuffling Naruto being gently dragged by Hinata.

'_This is going to be one of 'those' reports. I'm getting too old for this shit._' General Hammond thought.

===March 31, 10:15 AM, inside the Hokage Monument, Konoha==

Yuugao Uzuki (a.k.a. Neko) paused in the long, downward-sloping tunnel. Having negotiated the 2, very strong Genjutsus that shielded the mouth of said tunnel... one to compel an unauthorized person into walking away from the opening; the other concealing the mouth of the tunnel. After letting her eyes adjust to the illumination being provided by faintly glowing special Fuinjutsu tags lining the walls at regular intervals, she headed down to the large chamber housing Konoha's newest, and quite possibly greatest secret.

Finally reaching the main chamber, the sight of the huge metal ring still made her breath catch in her throat as she halted and exchanged nods with Kuma. "I see they finally got it upright."

Kuma groaned and rolled his shoulders. "If it hadn't of been for Jiraiya-dono, that damned thing would still be on the ground. It took 10 of us, and half of us using dotons, to get it there." He pointed to the far end of 100' by 100' square chamber; set in a solid stone base with an upward-sloping ramp was the great metal ring.

Kuma shook his head. "I hope this is worth it." He turned and hooked his thumb at the recently created Guard Room. "We've already got 4 ANBU down with near chakra exhaustion, and we can't keep giving them soldier pills." He waved his arm at the chamber. "I still can't believe we got this all carved out in less than a half a day."

Neko leaned forward and looked into the adjacent, smaller room and saw many of the ANBU sitting around stone tables, eating or simply slumped over, napping. Several of the others were laying on cots. "I'm quite sure Tsunade-sama appreciates the effort that everyone has put forth. And yes, I do think it'll be worth it." She pointed at the Stargate. "I was present at that meeting; that..." she took a step towards it. "...thing is the doorway to other worlds." She took a second step. "All those stars in the sky, the ones I used to stare when I was a stupid little kid..."

Kuma snorted. "Save it, Neko. You were never stupid. Annoying, yes; reckless, constantly... you were many things, but never stupid. I should know, I had the misfortune to sit in the row in front of you." He moved forward and joined her. "And yeah, I heard Jiraiya-dono talk about it." Kuma chuckled under his mask. "He was like a Genin with a new set of kunai." He folded his arms across his chest. "And that crazy, annoying brat went through it... and the Hyuuga heir." He shook his head. "And that means only one thing."

Neko took another step and looked back at him. "Oh, and what's that?"

Kumo pointed straight up. "That he's the headache of whomever has him on their hands now."

For the first time since Hayate's death, Yuugao laughed. "Too true."

===April 1, 1145 hrs, Kaneda AFB, Okinawa===

The Humvee slowed as they approached the security checkpoint. "This stinks, Sarge.", Staff Sergeant Ahn grumbled. "The First needs people like you around... people who know the score and aren't afraid kick some ass."

"Tain't nothing I can do about Kyung, besides I was told, _not_ asked to go." Hayes smiled to himself. "Besides, it could be worse, I could have ended up like the Major."

The Korean-born Sergeant scowled and spit out the driver's window. "Don't get me started on that one, Sarge. The Old Man got fucked over big-time by those _fucking_ suits". He thumped the window-sill with his fist. "The Major should of..."

Hayes reached over and squeezed the younger man's arm. "Don't say it, son. As stupid as they are, and as shifty as they may be... they're still our bosses... sorta." Hayes let out a deep breath. "No, it wasn't right, but it is what it is." The vehicle halted so that they could present their IDs to the AP sentry. That done, they entered Kaneda AFB and headed for the Transportation Office. After a couple minutes of silence, Hayes spoke up. "Stop the vehicle, son."

Ahn complied and looked about, then following his Sergeant's gaze... there outside the security fence was a small group of locals standing next to a white minivan. He immediately focused on the older man; he was wearing a gray haori over a gi, and wearing a scarlet hakama, secured with a narrow obi of the same color. He'd never been to his Sergeant's dojo... but he instinctively knew who the man was, his Sarge's Sensei. Next to the old man were two younger men in civvies and a still-younger female, a teenager if her black seifuku was any indication. "We've still got some time, Sarge. I'll keep the AP's from butting-in on your business."

Hayes gave the younger NCO a nod of thanks and got out without comment. Reflexively, he straightened his Class-A uniform as he approached Arakaki-sensei, his 2 nephews Shou and Yuu, and his granddaughter, Hina. Coming to a halt 2 body-lengths from the fence (no sense in setting off the intrusion sensors), Hayes gave the group a proper bow. As he began to speak, his Sensei raised his hand.

"There is no need to apologize, Jeri-kun. Your Taisa has already done so for you." The older man's voice was deep and clear. Fortunately, there were no aircraft taxiing on the runway, so no one needed to shout. "For myself, it is enough to know that I have a student who understands the honor of duty, and _that, _brings great credit to my dojo." He gave his student a slight bow.

Hayes bowed again in response. "Thank you for your generous praise, Sensei. Even so, I deeply regret not being able to help you as I had promised. I was especially looking forward to Hina-chan's participation in the tournament."

The young woman smiled in response and bowed again. "Domo, Jeri-san. I'll do my best." Hina's black eyes shone with pride, and affection for her grandfather's eldest student.

Hayes returned the smile. "No, you'll _win_. You can do it." He gave her a thumbs-up. "And you two," nodding at the young men, "I expect to hear good things about you. I'm proud that you've decided to join JGSDF."

The pair of brothers bowed. The younger of the two spoke. "We hope to follow in your footsteps Jeri-san." Yuu smiled, "We hope to qualify for the 1st Airborne, eventually."

Sergeant Ahn yelled from the Humvee. "Sarge, you've got 15 minutes."

Hayes' Sensei made a shooing motion. "Go now, it would not do for you to be late."

"Sorry, everyone. I'll be back, someday."

His sensei gave him an odd look. "That will depend on the path you choose, Jeri-kun. Go, much awaits you." He led the group bow that Jeri returned. Arakaki-sensei watched as his oldest, and one of his best students, jogged back to Humvee, and smiled fondly. "Now we go home." He announced.

As they all took their seats in the mini-van, Hina wondered if Ojii-sama's odd comment to Jeri-ojisan was linked to the Onmyoji he had visited a few days ago. She decided to ask him about it, after the tournament.

===March 31, 11:45 AM, Outside ANBU HQ, Konoha===

Tenten glanced up the cliff face of the Hokage Monument, and the entrance to ANBU Head Quarters, then back to her teammate Lee. "I'll take it from here." She adjusted her hold on the average-sized package she was carrying. Fortune had smiled on their determination to learn more about the odd goings-on in Konoha. Her father had sent her on a rush delivery of soldier pills to the very place they had wanted to go.

Lee's considerable eyebrows briefly merged to emphasize his displeasure. "I thought the plan was that we'd scout for information together."

"I've been thinking about that." She held out the package. "The last time, I needed a hand with the delivery; however, this time there's no excuse for both of us to be present." Tenten let out a sigh. "I realize two sets of eyes are better than one, but not if it compromises the mission."

Lee nodded and hung his head. "I suppose you're right, but..."

Tenten smiled. "Never fear Lee, if I have to, I'll just use my secret weapons."

Lee looked up in confusion. "But Tenten, if you start throwing..."

Tenten stamped her foot. "No no no, not those weapons... I'll use my other weapons."

Lee's confusion grew. "Other weapons?"

Tenten struck a girlish pose and winked. "Yes silly, I'll just use my womanly charms and sexy smile."

Lee added a frown to the confused look on his face. "Sexy... how?" Those were his final words before Tenten's foot connected with his left temple.

When asked later, Lee said that he vaguely remembered the sound of Tenten's feet as she stomped up the path to ANBU HQ.

===April 1, 4:45 PM, Just outside the U.S. Embassy===

Ric walked towards the nearest taxi stand, not far from the US Mission. Normally, he would have taken his assigned vehicle to his apartment, but it would have been a hassle for the staff to go and retrieve it from the airport. His friend Tom, who had lingered near the Ambassador's office, and had offered him a driver, but Ric turned him down.

No, this time, he'd be going solo; his departure from Moscow aside, this was probably going to be a less than pleasant evening. Not only was he not taking Irina to the ballet tonight, as he had promised... and Irina had made it _very_ clear that she was looking forward to it. She had strongly hinted that she had something special for him afterwards. He let out a loud breath. '_She's not going to take this change in plans well.' _He muttered to himself, "Okay, no sense in putting it off Ric." He reached into his overcoat for his cell phone.

Suddenly, the sound of tortured rubber filled the air. Glancing to his left and going into a drop or dodge stance, noting the sudden appearance of a fire engine red BMW Z8, stopped next to him as a small cloud-bank of tire smoke proceeded slowly down the street. In the driver's seat was a frowning, but very attractive blonde with icy-blue eyes. '_Well, that didn't take very long_.' He noted that the frown reached all the way to her eyes. '_Oh_ _yeah, she's pissed. This is not going to be fun_.'

"Get in." She ordered, the tone in her voice brooking no argument.

Choosing the lesser of two evils (gun fire being one possibility), he climbed into the passenger seat and put on his seat belt... this turned out to be a prudent choice. Less than a heart-beat after he heard the click of his seat belt, Kapitán Irina Pyotrovna Lebed hit the gas and headed away from the Embassy; only breaking 4 traffic laws in the process. Reading her mood, Von Krieger opted for silent mode and took in the sights, both outside and inside the speeding roadster.

After several minutes of silence, and madcap driving, Irina decided to go first. "So darling, when were you planning on telling me?"

Von Krieger noted the change in her tone. '_Okay, maybe she's not that angry._' He shifted in his seat to face her. "After I found out, which was..." he checked his watch. "...about 15 minutes ago." Ric decided to test the waters by reaching over and lightly brushing a finger down the back of her neck. He took her not breaking it as a positive sign. "Of course, that begs the question: how long have _you_ known?"

She finally gave him a smile. "State secret, _darling_."

By this time, he had noticed that her chosen route was heading straight for his apartment. Ric snorted with amusement. "Yes, of course." Switching targets, he traced the outline of her right ear... and sensed her poorly concealed shiver. "So then, may I impose on you for a ride to the airport?"

She sighed, then suddenly, but playfully, tried to bite his finger... mischief danced in her pale blue eyes. "Perhaps, but only if you show me how sorry you are for breaking your promise to me." She turned her focus back to piloting her BMW. The frown she had wore earlier returned to face. "Don't go, darling. Don't take this assignment, _please_."

The look in her eyes gave him pause; for the first time since they had met in that rave-techno club in St. Petersburg, he saw a flash of fear in her eyes. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what surprised him more, her open display of concern for his well-being, or her admission that the Russian Federation knew what was at the heart of Stargate Command. He had spent enough time in Russia to know that it, nor her people, gave up their secrets lightly, or easily. He only knew about SGC, and the secretive unit assembled around it, by virtue of the many contacts he had cultivated over the years.

That sudden admission also confirmed something else he had heard: whispered rumors he had heard for a while now... that the Russians were having less-than-happy adventures with their own Stargate. He took his finger-tip and pressed it gently against her lips, giving her a warning shake of his head. She took the hint, and fell silent. Shortly after that, they arrived at his apartment building; parking the BMW in the garage beneath it. They quickly took the elevator to his floor and went straight to his apartment.

After throwing the 3 dead bolts on the front door, he walked over to a secure container, and tapped in an access code, letting it scan his left thumb-print. There was a solid 'click' and the lid popped open. Glancing over at his companion, and long-time lover, he saw her walk over to a nearby recliner and casually drape a long, silver fox fur coat over it.

Von Krieger felt a twinge of regret as he noted that she was wearing a dress that would have been more than suitable for their aborted date at the Bolshoi Theater... a black, full-length silk gown that advertised _every_ curve of her body. She signaled her intent to stay by kicking off her low-heeled slippers in random directions.

Turning his attention back to his special lock box, he looked over the contents within and selected a black metallic cube about the size of an apple, and turned it on. Noting that all the proper LED's had lit up, and with the proper colors, he walked over to an antique end-table, and gently set it down. Only then did he give Irina an all clear hand-sign.

She quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped him in a tight embrace. She whispered into his ear. "Don't go." Then she pulled his head in and kissed him. He could feel her internal battle between fear and passion as she melted into his arms.

Irina thrust her fear aside and tightened her hold on him. She broke off her fiery kiss with a gentle bite to his lower lip. "Stay with me." She fought back the tears that she knew were waiting to rush out. "Stay here, I can..." She froze with shock as he gently, but firmly thrust her backwards, holding her at arms-length.

"Don't say _it_." His smokey gray eyes pierced her soul. "You know better than that; that choice would end up poisoning both of us." He let out a slow, deep sigh. "We stand at different ends of a dark arena. The things we share are our love of country, and our duty. I'll tell you once more, Irina Pyotrovna, I love _you_... _not_ for the things you fight for, but for what you _are; my_ fearless and faithful Irinya."

He reached up and lightly touched her face. "Would your love for me survive if I broke faith with everything I've bled and killed for? If I abandoned my family, friends, and my home..." he gripped both her arms firmly, "...would that make me more, or less, of the man you've told me you respect?"

The truth of his words tore her desperate scheme asunder. Her skillfully applied make-up was ruined by the tears that fell, unasked for. She sobbed as he gathered her in and wrapped her in a gentle embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder; his warmth, and strength flowed into her, halting her sobs and tears. "I hate this world... I hate this world that keeps us... apart." She murmured.

"I know, my króshka. I ain't too thrilled with it myself... but it's all we've got." His hands gently traced the curves of her body.

She pushed herself off him and took a step backwards. With a quick and deft hand she reached behind her and pulled down on the gown's zipper... her evening dress fell to the floor revealing the surprise that she had planned to give him, much later this evening... She smiled at the look he gave her nude, athletic body, sans underwear, and thought the discomfort she had suffered through to present him with a smooth, totally hairless body (minus the various scars she had collected) had been entirely worth the effort.

Her firm, considerable breasts thrust forward as she reached up and unfastened her skillfully arranged, pale-blonde, wavy hair, letting it fall and brush against her firm, heart-shaped bottom. "Then for time we have left, we will make our own world... with only you, and I."

Her sudden springing leap, and the body tackle from that distance was... quite impressive.

===March 31, 11:55 AM, ANBU HQ, Detention Level B===

Suzumebachi's eyes opened at the sound of a distant door being unlocked. She thought, '_Is it lunch time already_?' She threw off her blanket and rose from her sleeping pad... two welcome additions to her cell. A pair of footsteps got louder as she folded her blanket and faced the door. The view port on the door shot open revealing a pair of smiling eyes, she recognized the viewer, it was Kaiko-san, one of the few females working in T & I that didn't fill her with dread at the sight of... especially _her, _the woman in the long coat with the crazy eyes.

The lock 'clicked' and the door swung open, Suzumebachi noted she was carrying a wrapped bundle instead of plate of food to her disappointment, and it showed.

Kaiko chuckled. "You'll have to wait a bit longer for lunch, everyone's kinda busy today." She held out the bundle. "Besides, I think you'll like this, Suzu-san."

She took the bundle with a curious frown and hefted it; she gave it a slight squeeze. Suzumebachi smiled as she guessed the contents. She quickly squatted down and opened it... her smile grew as she confirmed her guess, new clothes, and rather nice ones at that. "Does this mean..." She couldn't keep the hopeful tone out of her voice.

Kaiko nodded with a friendly grin. "Yup, you'll be released by the end of this day. I wish I could tell you when, but I've been told that some of the final details are being worked out." She reached into a thigh pouch and extracted a smaller wrapped bundle. "And then there's this." She held it out with a cautious smile.

Suzumebachi slowly reached out and took it; she instantly knew what it was as she grasped it. Quickly unwrapping it, she gripped the hitai-ite tightly. Her eyes locked on the Leaf symbol engraved in the center of the metal plate. For as long as could remember, she had associated that mark with dread, and death; now it was her token of renewal, and rebirth. She unfurled the cloth band, the yellow color reminded her of the himawari (A/N: sunflowers) her late mother loved so much; she looked up at Kaiko, who guessed her question.

Kaiko pointed at it. "The color marks you as a probationary nin of Konoha. Hopefully you'll qualify for a band like mine before too long."

Suzumebachi nodded her acknowledgement at the state of her existence in Konoha, and set it down gently on the folded blanket. She stood up and began quickly stripping down to her panties and sandals, throwing the clothes she had been wearing since the day she arrived to the cell floor. Not trusting her voice, she only said, "Burn them. Burn it all."

===April 1, 1505 hrs, Haneda International Airport, Japan===

Master Sergeant Hayes unbuckled his safety harness as the C17's Crew Chief, walking down the crowded cargo bay, signaled him that it was safe to disembark, he stood up and freed his sole piece of luggage from it's restraints, an old, and well-worn jump bag he'd gotten from a good friend, decades ago. He stared at it for a moment and thought about all the places it, and he had been over all those years... He looked to the rear of the transport when he heard the warning buzzer sound off, telling everyone concerned that the cargo ramp was about to be lowered.

Jeri grinned at the faded words scrawled on the bag: 'LET'S GO', the motto of his first posting, the 1/325th; one of the units comprising the famed 82nd Airborne Division. He picked it up and headed to the rear of the C17, watching the ramp lower to the tarmac, as he neared the edge and stood beside the plane's Crew Chief. The Air Force NCO gave his arm a tap and pointed, yelling over the transport's 4 fan jets. "Hey Sarge! You expecting company?

Looking out over the runway, Hayes saw a long black limo moving towards them, an airport security mini-SUV leading it, and a Tokyo Metro Police sedan bringing up the rear. Both escort vehicles had their light-bars turned on. Hayes eyed it closely, the limo had no flags, badges _or _other-such marks of identity... it was just another anonymous stretch VIP limo.

He yelled back. "Nope. If they're here for me, nobody bothered to tell _me_ about it." Tightening his grip on his jump bag, he turned and shook hands with the Crew Chief. "Thanks for the lift."

The Air Force Master Sergeant gave Hayes a friendly tap on the shoulder. "Anytime, you guys..." he pointed his thumb at Hayes' Special Forces shoulder patch. "...are regular customers of ours. Best of luck."

Hayes gave him a nod and headed down the ramp. The limo and it's escorts drew closer and came to a collective halt about 150 feet from the rear of the C17. Whatever the heck was going on, Hayes didn't believe in coincidence when it came to black limos appearing out of nowhere_..._ he'd been in and out of the Black Ops community far too long to know better than that. After a deep breath, he took the plunge and started walking towards it. About 30 feet away from the limo, a black-suited, security-type Asian male got out via the shotgun door and immediately gave him a deep, respectful bow, and motioned him to go the rear of the limo.

Hayes returned the bow and walked down to where the passenger doors were, seeing nothing through the dark tinted windows. The security suit trailed him a by few steps and stopped by an intermediate door, motioning to him to enter after opening it. As Hayes moved to the open door, the MIB politely motioned Hayes to give him his jump bag. Hayes paused for a moment, then surrendered it and entered the limo.

===April 1, 8:52 PM, Major Richard Von Krieger's apartment, Moscow===

Ric surveyed his formerly tidy bedroom... _okay_, so it wasn't _that_ tidy to begin with; he thanked God he had a couple spare Class A uniforms... the one he _had_ been wearing hadn't survived Irina's version of 'let's get naked'. And the mattress would have go back into the bed; no sense in giving Rudman's cleaners any more to gossip about then usual. '_Note to self: throw out those sheets_.' He shook his head at the stains, and the tears... given the odd width of his bed, getting something to match it had cost him a lot of time hunting them down.

He walked over to the black cube on his dresser, he had somehow managed to move it to it's new location, and made sure it was still working... he looked at it with a quirky smile. '_Thank goodness for milspec widgets_.' The sound of his toilet flushing halted his damage assessment of the room. Irina stepped out the bathroom holding a damp hand towel, still clad in a sheen of sweat, wearing only a smile.

"So... apology accepted?" He asked, giving her a head to toe scan. Her pale pink nipples were still puffy with arousal, her 'lower lips' were swollen (and more than a little red) and damp. Never mind the various minor bruises, scratches... and a couple bite marks on both her shoulders. She had been rather insistent about receiving those.

She gave him a lewd grin. "Nyet."

One of his eyebrows went up by dint of reflex. "No?" He shook his head in disbelief. "If memory serves me right, you were begging me to stop about 15 minutes ago. Besides, I do have a plane to catch, andI haven't even begun packing yet." He put his fist to his chin in a thinking pose and frowned. "I told you I can't stay, and..."

"Nyet, nyet, darling." She gave him her best I'm sorry look and kissed him tenderly. "I accept that you must go." She gave him a second soft kiss but that look of worry, and fear had crept back into her eyes. She shook her head, "You too... stupid brave, like Russian man." Her voice fell to whisper. "Is gift of Chërt... you say, gift of the Devil. Many brave, smart men go in... they not come back." She reached up touched his face lightly. "And many of those that do come back, not same men." The worry on her face was... honest, and plain to see.

Von Krieger took in this side of Irina that he had never seen before; normally she was brash, loud, and rather... feisty. Her held her face with his hands. "I won't bother telling you not to worry, you will anyway. What I will tell you... since you seem to be in the mood for revealing state secrets..." she flinched at that comment. "...is that our Stargate Command, if the rumors are true and _I_ think they are, is that our teams have had considerable success with their adventures. And they do come back, more often than not." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Besides, that's _not_ the reason why I'm going there."

Irina blinked and stared at him in disbelief. "But you krúto soldat! Why else you go?"

He gave her head a gentle shake. "To be an instructor, to teach."

Irina narrowed her eyes. "Ne pizdí!" She hissed the words out.

An angry frown flashed over his face. "I am _not_ lying! You of all people should know better than to accuse me of that_._"

Irina flinched at the look in his eyes; she knew that she had said one of the few things that would anger him. "I sorry, darling." Her eyes went to the floor. "This cannot be true; you great and brave man..." She looked up, her height allowing her to meet his eyes directly. "They will ask you, and you will say _yes_." Her eyes reflected the certainty of her declaration.

Ric sighed. "I don't know that, and neither do you."

Irina straightened her body and grasped his arms. "You are stupid brave man; you will go!" She snorted. "I know you. You stupid enough to love me, you stupid enough to go through Chërt voróti... Devil's gate." She added silently, '_I stupid enough to love you too_.'

Ric drew Irina in and embraced her tightly; he whispered in her ear, "That was the worst I love you I've ever heard." He followed up his statement by giving her ass a firm slap.

That leer of hers came back; she ducked out of his arms and dove to the mattress on the floor. Getting on her hands and knees, she began fishing under the mattress for something.

"Irina... what are you doing?" He glanced at the clock. "We have to get going soon."

She stopped hunting under the mattress and looked up at him, her face unreadable. "I have revealed many state secrets. I shall be punished for that."

Ric gave her a dubious look. "Oh really?"

"Yes. But, I take punishment from you, instead of state." She began fishing again, "Ah!" Irina threw something at him, which he caught handily. "You punish me, da?"

He looked at the object in his hand, it was a small bottle of cherry-flavored AstroLube. Ric wondered, '_When the Hell did she get 'this' under that mattress_?' Ric looked back down at her; she had her shoulders resting on the mattress with her very attractive heart-shaped ass in the air, wiggling it at him. She had a 'I've been naughty, daddy' look on her face... it was very wrong, in many different ways.

"Punishment eh?" Ric twirled the bottle in his hand. "I thought punishments weren't supposed to be enjoyable."

She gave him a pout. "But I won't enjoy it."

He flipped open the cap. "Liar."

She nodded in agreement. "Yet another reason to punish me. Besides..." that leer came back, "...with your bolshoy khren, enjoy it, I shall not." She wiggled her eyebrows, and her backside. "I make room for you when I go sortír."

Ric squirted a large amount of lube onto his open palm. "Baba Yaga eats naughty, wicked, lying little girls like you." His half-hardened member grew stiffer as he began to coat it with lubricant.

Irina grinned and nodded again, "Da, truth. So, you must go very fast before she comes to carry me away."

Ric kneeled between her now wide-spread legs as she reached back and helpfully spread her very firm cheeks. '_I am so going to hell for this, especially if I miss that flight_.'

The loud cries of pleasure that followed almost caused the cube to overload.

===March 31, 12:35 PM, Outside ANBU HQ, Konoha===

As Tenten neared the bottom, she noticed Lee sitting on a nearby stump, apparently deep in thought. Recalling their exchange a short time ago, she decided to forgive his lapse of reason... as much as it pained her to admit it, being feminine wasn't something she actively pursued, not that would made a real difference in her failed advances with Neji. Shaking her head to clear away that memory, she headed straight for Lee.

Lee nodded at his final decision, he would... then he noted Tenten's approach. Standing up, he cleared his throat. "Tenten, I wish to apologize for my unyouthful comment."

Tenten smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it; besides, we have more important matters to deal with."

Lee grinned. "Yosh! I trust you gained much from your... snooping." Lee didn't care much for that word, it is was most unyouthful, but it did describe their actions fairly well.

Tenten snorted. "Yes, and no... but that's not a matter for discussion, here." She vaguely pointed at ANBU HQ. "Let's head over to our headquarters; what's more, it's lunch time.

===April 1, 1505 hrs, Kaneda International Airport===

The door shut behind him; settling into the bench (but very comfy) seat, he noted the distinct, deep 'thunk' as it shut. He noted silently. '_Hmm... armored door_.' However, that _wasn't_ the most disturbing factor... the interior of the limo was _totally_ dark. As darkness enveloped him, all his years of training and experience kicked in.

Pushing aside the instinctive urge to panic, he drew on his Delta Force OTC training, and the teachings of his Sensei... an acknowledged Shotokan Hanshi (A/N: Grand Master). Immediately gaining control of his breathing, he heard the words of his sensei in his head... '_through inner calm lies true strength, and the path to victory_.'

With the speed of a battle-tested soldier, he ticked off circumstance before him... this _wasn't_ a hit on him; it would have been far easier for a sniper to 'take the shot' as he was approaching the limo, and the setting was too official. No, the obvious choice was... this was a test, not unlike some of the shooting exercises he had been put through, and had later put others through. Trusting his judgement, he sat motionless, controlling his breathing and... waited for his mystery host to make the first move.

After what he deemed to be a sufficient period of time, Hayes decided to call this game. "I appreciate the opportunity to take a break and all, but I have a plane to catch." He announced to the darkness. "Show your face, or let me out." He used his best sergeant's 'no-nonsense' tone of voice.

Several seconds after his ultimatum, the darkness was slowly dispelled by an overhead light at the rear of the limo's interior. It revealed an elderly Japanese woman, dressed in a simple black silk kimono, belted with an embroidered gold obi; her glossy black hair (Hayes was impressed by that, given her apparent age...) done up in a very traditional, formal style, held in place with decorated wooden pins. "Fear not Hayes-san." She spoke with a clear and steady voice. "Your flight _will_ wait for you."

Hayes felt the limo begin to move, which didn't surprise him. On the other hand, what _did_ surprise him was a second circle of light suddenly appearing only a few feet in front of him... revealing an additional passenger. A young woman with long, reddish-brown hair in a high ponytail. She was wearing a similar kimono, belted with a plain green obi, and kneeling on the limo's floor. Her most distinct feature (besides being _very_ attractive) was her smoky-gray eyes... denoting mixed blood. She gave him a small, but friendly smile and a polite bow.

The disturbing part was that he hadn't had any sense of her closeness... he wasn't as good as his Sensei, but it was no small feat to sneak up on him, as more than a few, now _very_ dead, people had discovered.

"Forgive my lack of manners, Hayes-san. My name is Mae Von Krieger." She gave him a very cat-like smile. "And this is one of my many grandchildren, Eriko-san." The young woman bowed again.

Hayes digested that for short moment. "Ah, you would the mysterious grandma Ric has mentioned from time-to-time. I'm honored to make your acquaintance, Von Krieger-san." He bowed and smiled, adding, "And your most worthy grand-daughter."

"No, Hayes-san, it is _I_ who am honored to finally meet the companion of my wayward grandson." She smiled again. "I confess to being pleasantly surprised by your reaction to my style of introduction... not many have displayed such calm and discipline as yourself. You do your sensei great credit. Ah yes... before I forget, your belongings are on their way to your flight."

"Thank you, ma'am." He commented to himself. '_Hmm... so what does this old lady 'not' know_?' Hayes schooled his face and grinned. "Wayward in what way, Ma'am?"

The elder Von Krieger frowned. "It has been almost 15 years since his last visit, and almost 3 years since his last letter." She drummed her fingers on the armrest. "Eriko, if you please." The young woman reached into her kimono, pulled out a large, traditionally-folded envelope, and presented it to Hayes while bowing.

Hayes took it with a nod and glanced at it, he couldn't read kanji, but he had a pretty good idea whose name was on it. "To be fair ma'am, you shouldn't be too hard on him. Things have been rather unsettled over the last few years."

Mae-san gave Hayes a sad frown. "You speak truly." She nodded, then shook her head. "They were _very_ foolish to anger your nation." She snorted. "I could have told them as much. That being said, _all_ that my grandson has done meets with my approval..." Hayes noted the gleam in her eyes. "Apparently the meager skills that I taught him, given the scarcity of his visits, has served him quite well."

Hayes didn't quite understand her meaning, but he filed it away under 'facts previously unknown' regarding his long-time friend and former commander. He paused in thought for a moment. "All things considered ma'am, you'd probably have better luck if he had your e-mail address." Mae-san's response was an sour frown.

Eriko broke her silence. "I've said as much." Hayes noted a hint of mischief in her eyes, and a 'I-told-you-so' look on her face.

Mae-san slapped her armrest lightly. "Hush child. There is no... soul in such... _things;_ mere letters on a screen will never convey, or _reveal_ a writer's heart as a brush-stroke can." She held out her hand. "Please be so kind as to present my letter to Akira-chan. Tell him I expect a prompt reply, and in the appropriate fashion." The tone in her voice came across as a polite command.

'_Akira-chan? Hmm... so that's what the A means_.' Hayes beat down the laughter that almost burst out. "I would be honored to give him this letter." He gave her a nod. "And, if all goes well, I'll run across him again."

The elder Von Krieger gave him that cat-like smile again. "Yes, I know."

Despite his effort to remain cordial, Hayes' eyes narrowed. "That's hardly common knowledge, ma'am."

"True. However, little remains hidden from the House of Rokkaku." She held up her hand to forestall any comment from Hayes. "Have no fear, Hayes-san. Any secrets concerning my dear grandson are safe... we of Koka do not betray our own, unlike those _pretenders_ in Iga." She looked as though she tasted something very foul. "My late husband thought very highly of him, and I do confess to being rather fond of him as well... in spite of his inattention to his, poor, aged grandmother." She had a picture-perfect hurt expression on her face.

Hayes digested what he just heard. '_Iga? Koka? What the fuck...'_

"I'll hold you to that, ma'am." Hayes leaned back and crossed his arms. "Him and me have been through a lot together. He's bled for me, and I've returned the favor. And, I think kinda highly of him myself."

Mae-san nodded in approval. "Rightly spoken." She paused in thought. "Ah yes, one last thing; it has come to my attention that Akira-chan has found a woman that he seems... rather interested in."

Hayes raised an eyebrow. "The Major?" Hayes shook his head in sadness. "I hate to be the one to say it, but that man has _no_ luck with women." Hayes sighed. "Most all the ones he's run across either want to kill him... because it was their mission, or were bit too... _wild_."

Mae-san gave Hayes an odd smile. "All that may be so, but perhaps... this time, things will be different. At any rate, please inform my grandson that it is my wish to meet her."

Hayes felt the limo come to a halt while he was contemplating what he had learned. He gave the elder Von Krieger a dubious look. "Okay... I'll do it. But given our next posting, you may have to wait awhile for that visit." The door next to him opened... the sounds of Haneda, and the 747 next to the limo came flooding in. Preferring not to shout over the din, Hayes bowed to the pair and exited the limo... right in front of his JAL 747 with a ramp-wagon waiting for him. Quickly walking up the portable stairs he thought to himself, '_Boss, you've got a lot of explaining to do_.' Hayes paused at the top and watched the limo and its escorts pull away. "Well... this explains a bunch of stuff."

Inside the limo, Mae Von Krieger waited until her granddaughter had joined her at the rear, then turned to her. "I have a task for you, Eriko-chan."

===April 1, 11:05 PM, Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow===

Irina held out yet another tissue. "Bud zdorov, darling."

"Thanks." He took the offered item. "Gawd, I hope I'm not getting a cold... and hopefully I didn't get it from you."

Irina sniffed dismissively. "Nonsense, I only sneezed twice." She smiled slyly. "Which means you must kiss me."

Ric snorted. "Like you need an excuse for that." The PA system broke the mood by announcing his flight was now available for boarding. "It's time." He commented, breaking the uncomfortable silence that followed. He watched as Irina took a step backward, all of her warmth and affection suddenly sealed away... her face a stony mask.

"Da." She put her hands in her coat pockets. "You go now." Her eyes went to the floor. "No kiss, no goodbyes... they... _watch_ us."

Von Krieger gave her a slight nod. "I will miss you, you know." He picked up a small 'get-out-of-dodge' bag and turned towards the gate entrance; not looking back, he said, "Take care." And added in a softer voice, "Môy vozlyûblennaya."

Irina Pyotrovna Lebed watched as he strode past the boarding gate kiosk and down the passageway, disappearing from her sight. Silently, she thanked her Spetsnaz training for the strength it gave her to stand there utterly still, and to strangle the wail her heart was demanding to be let out.

Her sole thought only made it worse. '_On ushël_.' [A/N: he (is) gone.]

Spinning about, she marched back to her car. Any FSB operative in her path vanished; the look on her face promised pain, and an ugly death for anyone stupid enough to get within arms reach. Quickly reaching her BMW, she got in and slumped in the seat. Within that tiny island of privacy, only then did everything she had bottled up inside come flooding out.

After several minutes she calmed herself, wiped her face and started up the BMW. In a cloud of tire smoke, she left the airport and headed back to Moscow. And for one of the few times in her life... she knew not what to do.

===April 1, 1:30 PM, Denver International Airport===

Stepping into the main concourse, Master Sergeant Jeremiah E. Hayes scanned the crowd moving about. Time zones, and the International Date Line being what it was, he'd actually arrived in Denver before he had left Tokyo... time-wise that is. After several moments, he spotted a young, USAF enlisted female dressed in her blue Class-A uniform scanning the crowd, holding a thick-looking envelope.

Smiling to himself he headed straight for her, curious to see how long it would take for her to spot him; he got within 20 meters of her before she locked eyes with him... given his height, coppery hair, _and_ his Green Beret atop all that, she did have the advantage. After spotting him, she reached in the envelope, pulled something out and looked at it, and then back at him again.

Flashing Hayes a smile, she began walking towards him. A couple of arms-length from him, she gave Hayes a nod. "Good morning, Sergeant Hayes. I'm Senior Airman Cruz, I've been tasked with getting you to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex." She motioned him to follow her. "I trust you had a uneventful flight here?"

'_Only if you count meeting a ninja granny as uneventful_.' Hayes chuckled at the thought and shook his head. "No, except for a seat upgrade to executive class, it was rather quiet."

Cruz gave him a puzzled look. "An upgrade like that?" She whistled. "How'd you manage that one?"

Hayes smiled. "Apparently I have friends in high places."

Cruz gave him a sideways glance. "Ah, I see. Must be nice."

"It certainly was." They reached the staff sedan. "By the way Airman, who's been assigned to meet Major Von Krieger?"

Cruz froze for moment, wondering how he knew about the second arrival. "Believe it or not, a Colonel volunteered for that job." She looked at her watch. "If everything goes as planned, the Major should be arriving today at about 1730 hours out of LGA." After Hayes put his jump bag on the back seat, they both climbed into the car.

After they both buckled up, Cruz started up the sedan, pulled into traffic and began the hour and a half drive to Cheyenne Mountain. Once they got onto the freeway and Cruz set the cruise control, she asked. "By the way Sergeant, how did you know about the Major's arrival?"

Hayes gave Cruz a coy smile. "We're a package deal."

"Oh." Cruz pondered that simple answer. After several minutes of silence, she spoke again. "By the way, you're scheduled for in-processing at 0830 tomorrow, and the Mess Hall opens at 0630 and closes at 0230."

"Thanks for the heads-up." He replied and settled in for the ride.

===April 1, 5:40 PM, Denver International Airport===

Colonel O'Neill scanned the crowd again, the concourse was a bit more crowded than he had expected. '_Dammit, he shouldn't be that hard to spot_. _Maybe I should have brought Naruto and Hinata along... they'd be useful right now, and it would have been a good opportunity to acquaint them with the world outside SGC_.' He mused, then recalled with a smile Naruto's whining at being denied the chance to escape the confines of the base. '_General Hammond better authorize that 72-hour pass he promised... soon. Naruto's cabin fever is growing to the point that his episodes of mischief are getting more... frequent_.'

Even Hinata, normally quiet and uncomplaining, had started dropping obvious hints to Sam. He commented to himself, "Well, with Stan and Ollie here, it'll be a good excuse to make it a group outing."

"Talking to yourself now, Jack?" The softly-voiced reply came from directly behind him.

Jack turned on his heel... standing behind him dressed in civvies, in the current early spring fashion from Moscow no less, was his long-time acquaintance and friend, Major Richard A. W. Von Krieger. "Dammit Ric, how the hell do you _do _that?" Anybody who had spent enough time around Von Krieger learned that he had a talent for showing up out of nowhere... _and_ with damn little noise.

Ric gave Jack a modest smile. "It's a gift." He gave O'Neill a quick once over and nodded with slight grin. "You're looking pretty good for an old man..." He broadened his smile. "Sir."

They shook hands as always, testing each other's grip. This time, Jack gave up first... Ric's hands, _and_ his punches, always did have a stone-like quality to them... that part of him hadn't changed since their last meeting.

Jack eyed his friend closely; he looked tired, but that was to be expected given the amount of time he had just spent in the air getting to Denver. However, there was something else about Ric that caught his eye. There was a trace of sadness in his eyes that was totally out of place with the man he knew. He probed politely, "Have a bad flight?"

Ric let out a tired snort. "Nah, it went well enough, considering." He rubbed his nose. "I've had worse flying experiences... most of _them_ involving _lots _of green tracers heading my way." Ric cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Jack decided that a more private setting was needed to get to the bottom of what was bothering his friend, so he punted. "No, just wondering."

Ric gave him a knowing glance, and nodded curtly. "Okay." He gave Jack a sweeping gesture with his left hand and swung a small bag over his shoulder with the other. "Let's roll. I need some grub _and_ a decent cup of coffee or I'm liable to start committing random acts of mayhem. That swill they served on the flight wasn't fit for Norks."

Jack laughed heartily; Ric always did have a way with words. "Okay okay, we'll stop at the first decent joint we come across."

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End Chapter 5

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**Author's Note**: The characters 'Ric', 'Jeri' and most other characters, main and 'background' are OC's, this fic,as I said earlier, is loaded with them. There are no directly 'borrowed' characters from other shows, but many of the OC's from my other Naruto fics will appear. Also, while some may find it slightly confusing, there are multiple plot threads running through this fic that will come together eventually, and join the main plot lines.

**MikeJV37**

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**Please review and let us know what you think of this chapter, and how the story's going.**

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**Editor's Note:** to pre-answer any questions, Irina's seemingly odd English is _not _a remark on her intelligence (_or _Russians in general). One of the difficulties of writing dialogue for a Russian-speaker is that there are _no equivalent _Russian words for... is, a, an, are, or the. Yes, she can speak perfect English, but like any non-native speaker... stress or emotion tends to toss language skills out the nearest window.

BTW, cut me some slack on my use of Russian language and slang... I'm still learning, sorta. Feel free to PM if I've made any errors, serious or otherwise. Tips are welcome as well.

**P.S. -** an early 'tip of the hat' to bub23453... _thank you _for your very helpful advice.

**Obakeinu-9.11**


	6. Blonde Power!

NinjaGate

Blonde Power!

By: MikeJV37

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Author's Note: I'd made some reviewer comments, but my Editor posted his, so I'll leave them since they basically cover what I had planned. Also. sorry about the minor delay, with the holidays and some life/job issues for my Editor, I missed my original post time, but still basically hit the day, depending on where you are,

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===March 26, 9:00 PM, Tsunade's House, Konoha===

Tsunade opened the door to her quarters at the Hokage Complex and saw Jiraiya standing there in what she _knew_ was a brand new outfit. While he looked the same to most others, she could tell he was informally dressed, and trying to look his best for her. She rewarded him a small smile for his efforts. "You _almost_ look presentable... but we both know if you polish shit enough, you'll get shiny shit. Come on in you old pervert." Tsunade announced, a small smirk on her face let him know she was teasing him.

Jiraiya gave her a playful 'you bitch' glare, then sighed and entered. "Nice place, so you're the Madame, right?"

Tsunade gritted he teeth a moment then sighed. "Jiraiya, can we _please_ skip our usual song and dance routine tonight?"

"You started it... but yes, I think we should drop our masks for once, it's been far too long." Jiraiya replied with a nod of agreement.

Tsunade brushed the palm of her right hand from her left shoulder down her gray shirt, off the end of her left breast. Then keeping it palm down, swept her hand in a half-circle until it was extended straight out before she turned it sharply with the thumb up.

Jiraiya's eyebrows raised in surprise at the old, but familiar gesture, then gave a slight nod and copied her gesture before clasping her hand with a single shake.

"SEAL!" They said in unison, then there was a _whoosh_ and a _pop_. That done, they released their firm, mutual grip of each other's hands, and relaxed the tension in their bodies.

"If you invoked, that, seal... you must have something special planned." Jiraiya said calmly, but with a serious tone in his voice.

"I'm sorry, but its been eating at me all day... Jiraiya-kun." Tsunade said, getting slightly, but noticeably, nervous for a moment.

Jiraiya's eyes widened and he took a step back, clearly stunned. "That bad huh?" Tsunade nodded. Jiraiya opened the upper, left half of his green shirt with his left hand, bit his right index finger and drew the kanji for Honor over his heart in blood. "I, Jiraiya, vow on penalty of death that I will not reveal what happens tonight within the seal placed by myself and Tsunade Senju. HONOR SEAL." Jiraiya pronounced with a firm, clear voice. The kanji glowed and then faded, absorbed into his body.

Tsunade gave Jiraiya a warm, gentle smile. "Thank you... and I won't tell anyone that underneath that Kage-level pervert shell is a good man... _and_ my dear friend." She declared, then took a breath, sighed and released her special Henge, showing him her true appearance. Her shirt dropped a few inches from her breasts, and while still beautiful she looked like a 50 year old, well traveled, battle hardened elite kunoichi, her blonde hair now showing a broad stripe of white hair on both sides. She removed her belt, then her gray shirt, revealing a custom gray sports bra straining to hold her obviously now larger, heavier, sagging breasts. She turned, lead him to the living room and to the couch, sitting on the coffee table was a bottle of sake and 2 cups, she sat on the far side, Jiraiya sat to her left.

Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "After a couple drinks each you can give me a massage to get rid of this stress... and I'm asking you as your friend. I know you love me, but please don't take advantage on this situation and ask me to take my bra or panties off for it, because I'm afraid I'd do it and we'd end up doing something we shouldn't. I'm not ready for that kind of life change right now." Tsunade said gently, almost meekly.

"Agreed... but you only get to see this Jiraiya tonight... first thing tomorrow morning..." Jiraiya said, leaned in and grabbed the left shoulder strap of her sports bra, and jerked it a few times to jiggle her breast. "The super pervert comes back, _understood_... Princess Juggs."

Tsunade smiled. "Agreed... and I wouldn't have you any other way... you tell anyone that I _let _you peep Konoha's women, what I really think of your perverted antics, or that how I treat you publicly is usually an act... and I really _will_ castrate you Jiraiya."

Jiraiya nodded. "Agreed. Now, lets crack open that bottle, I've waited all day for a taste of the best sake in the world. I just wish this wasn't the last bottle."

Tsunade bit her bottom lip a moment, her face showed she was struggling about something. "The original Senju Estate is supposed to have a hidden cellar, that among other things, has a sake collection unmatched anywhere in the world, but I never found out where it is because of the War. You find it for me... Kami forgive me for saying this... and I'm yours."

Jiraiya's jaw dropped. "So there is a Senju Clan Vault!" Tsunade nodded. "Deal! But not tonight. I can't believe I'm going to say this... but I'm going to wait until this Stargate issue settles down, then I'll start searching."

Tsunade smiled, she just wished she could tell him that wasn't really why she wanted access to her Clan's Vault.

===April 1, 5:00 PM, Stargate Command, Gen Hammond's Office===

"You wanted to see me?" Naruto asked nervously, hoping this wasn't about the mysterious late night food thefts.

Gen Hammond smiled warmly, hiding his smirk. "Yes, please shut the door and have a seat."

Naruto relaxed, smiled and did as asked.

"As you know Naruto, your Summons are the only way we have to communicate with Konoha." He said then opened a drawer on the right side of his desk and removed a scroll he'd gotten a few days earlier, then set it on his desk. "I want this delivered to your Hokage, and no one else. This is for her eyes only." He declared, then slid it towards Naruto, who took the scroll and held it in his lap.

"Hai... I mean, yes sir. Will there be a reply?" Naruto asked.

Gen Hammond replied after a moment of thought. "Yes, but probably not until tomorrow morning."

"Dismissed?" Naruto asked.

Gen Hammond gave Naruto a small, but warm smile. "Hai."

Naruto returned the smile and nodded, slipping the scroll into his pocket after he stood, then paused as he started to turn. "I was wondering about something... this place is a lot like the Hokage Tower... so, why isn't your desk covered in stacks of paperwork like Baa-chan's always is?"

Gen Hammond's smile broadened, he'd overheard some of Naruto's comments about the activities, and the state of the various administrative offices during his, and Hinata's initial tour of Stargate Command.

===April 1, 8:00 PM, Stargate Command, Personal Quarters Area===

A soft, coded knock at his door brought Ric's house keeping to a halt; his allegedly misplaced luggage had been delivered by an SGC EM barely 20 minutes ago... getting ready for the coming day would have to wait.

Knowing who was there by virtue of that knock, he smiled as he opened the door. Standing in the hallway, at attention was his faithful, and former subordinate, Master Sergeant Hayes, who saluted him as the door opened fully. He was dressed in old-style OD 'Nam fatigues, and wearing a pair of sage-colored EXOSpeed II Altama boots. "Welcome back, sir." Hayes' beaming smile said everything else.

Despite the lingering dark mood that was picking at him, he returned the smile and motioned to his old friend. "Get your sorry ass in here, ya old fart." Ric replied, using his best fake southern accent.

Hayes replied with his grandpa voice, "No respect for your elders, boy." Walking in, he threw a casual, but swift, straight punch at Von Krieger's head... which he dodged by deftly leaning and twisting his upper body away from the blow. Hayes drew his arm back and continued into the room. "It appears that all that high livin' with dem Ruskies ain't turned y'all soft. He added with an exaggerated Tennessee twang.

"So, how's things going back at the Group?" Ric replied, shutting the door and schooling his face... Jeri's casual quip had brought his thoughts concerning Irina back to the surface.

Jeri did a quick scan of the room. It was typical GI but with much nicer touches than usual. Like his own room, it had a decent-sized bed with a small end-table and reading lamp next to it; a large closet, a dresser, a simple wooden desk with a lap top computer and telephone on it, with an attached book-case (and a built-in light), and a high end, office-style chair. For government digs, it was well above average.

He took the chair and spun it towards Ric and sat down. "All in all, not bad. We've been a tad busier than usual... the Norks (E/N: North Koreans) have been getting uppity again, so we got an order to make one of their smaller meth plants go 'poof'. Everyone got out clean and clear, and Dear Leader is out about...oh... 2 mil a month."

Ric smiled at the news and nodded. "Good times. Gawd I miss field work." He slid his suitcase aside and sat on the bed. "Okay, what's the word on this gig we got roped into?" He reached into his suitcase, started digging under some shirts, and turned on a certain black cube. With that done, he turned his attention back to Jeri. "Not that I mind working with you again."

===Monitor Room, Stargate Command Security HQ===

"Hey, monitor No. 42 just went out." The younger of our lovable pair of security types announced. (E/N: Refer back to chapter 3)

The second, older airman turned towards the bank of screens. "Who's it tasked to?"

The younger airman riffed through a printout. "Um... one of the newer arrivals, an Army Major."

The older NCO peeked over the younger's shoulder. "Just log it and let it go."

The younger man looked at his co-worker and frowned. "SOP says we notify the Duty Officer..." He shut up when his elder lightly smacked him over the head with a rolled-up copy of the Denver Post.

"You dummkopf. Didn't you read today's security extract?" He smacked him again when his younger counter-part shook his head no. "That Major is a former black operator for the Agency. The D.O. will go to his quarters, find nothing wrong, and then wind up coming here and reaming our asses for making him look bad."

"But..." He got smacked again.

"But _nothing_... was he alone when the monitor went out?"

Junior scratched his head. "I dunno... I think there might have been somebody else there."

Senior looked through the extract again. "Oh great, it gets even better... the other name on this..." he waved the print-out, "...is ex-Delta Force, also a Green Beret, and the Major's former second-in-command." He glared at Junior. "Log it, flag it, and leave it for the old man to deal with." He emphasized his point by raising the newspaper menacingly.

Junior started writing in the Incident Log.

===Major Von Krieger's Quarters===

Hayes caught the look in Ric's eyes, and nodded. "I did a bit of wandering around, stretching my legs as it were, sat in the mess hall for awhile... by the way, the chow here is actually pretty good. And, kept my ears open while I was playing nice with a cute junior NCO. She was the one that drove me here, a friendly little gal from Texas."

"So, did you get her number?" Ric wagged an eyebrow suggestively.

Jeri gave him a sour look. "Please, she's half my age, _and_ half my rank. Besides, she's already got a girlfriend."

Ric chuckled and lightly slapped his knee. "Ya gotta love the Air Farce." The humor on his face dropped. In it's place was a focused, and serious gaze. "So, what's the word?"

Jeri leaned back in his boss' chair. "Well, there was an op going on, through that gate gizmo, but no info on who went on the mission... but I did hear someone say that they were happy for some peace and quiet for a change, which matches up with some other little snippets I picked up."

Ric put on his thinking cap. "Hmm... Jack said something about a group outing while waiting for me at the airport, probably on a pass. And, by the look on his face, he was bothered by something... Nothing major mind you, but he was distracted enough by it that I was able to get behind him, within knife-reach, _and_ I could of picked my target a few times over."

In SG1's Ready Room, Jack sneezed hard enough to knock over his king. Daniel quickly accepted his concession.

Jeri frowned at that bit of intel. "That is not the Colonel O'Neill I know... getting old he might be, stupid he _ain't_." Ric nodded in agreement. "If I had to swag it, I'd wager it involves this instructor business we got dragged here for."

Ric nodded in agreement. "Yup, that'd be my guess too." He shrugged. "Oh well, no sense in getting worked up about it. I expect we'll find out tomorrow."

"True enough." Jeri nodded and smiled slyly. "By the way, Boss..." He deliberately paused, "I met someone you know on the way here from Okinawa... Oh yeah, Sensei said hi as well."

Jeri smiled inwardly at the look on Ric's face. He reached into a tunic pocket and handed his friend the letter. "Your granny says hello, and is expecting you to promptly and... properly respond to her letter." He hooked his thumb at the envelope Ric was staring at it like it was a bomb waiting to go off. "She was also kinda steamed that you hadn't visited in awhile." He added, a tone of amusement creeping into his voice.

"Oh _great_... Onibaba strikes again." Ric muttered. He got up and started pacing, staring at the traditionally-folded letter.

Jeri frowned at his friend's reaction. "Come on boss, she didn't seem all that bad... plus she had one of the grand kids along." He paused, tapping his chin. "Yup, I remember now. Gray eyes just like yours, sorta reddish hair... Eriko was her name."

Ric stopped in mid-stride and stared at Hayes. "Eriko-chan?"

Jeri laughed and rocked in his chair. "She weren't no chan, not from where I was sittin."

Ric went into ponder-mode; after a long moment of several flashbacks, he started pacing again. "I guess not... she'd be about... 20 now." Ric froze in mid-stride and stared at Jeri, his eyes narrowed. "What _else_ did she say?"

Jeri bit back a laugh. "Who do ya mean? Y'or granny, or Eriko-san?"

Ric resisted the urge to smack Hayes over the head with his Obasama's letter. "The old witch of course!"

"Oh." He gave his boss his best dumb hick face. "Oh yeah, she told me to tell Akira-chan..."

Ric glared at Hayes and spat out, "Don't you ever mention that name to _anybody_... I swear I'll knock you into next week."

Jeri waved his hands in surrender. "Don't worry boss, your secret is safe with me." Hayes shook his head in amusement. "Anyway, your granny said to bring that gal you've been cavorting around Moscow with; she said she wanted to meet her next time y'all came to visit." Jeri added with a smile, "Sooner rather than later."

Hayes' smile disappeared when saw the look on his friend's face... and watched him slump into his bed and put his head into his hands. '_Oh Lordy... this is bad_.' Jeri let out a long slow breath. '_The Old Man has 'girlfriend issues'... again_.' Jeri stood up, went over to the bed, put the open suitcase on the floor and sat down next to Ric.

He used his best counselors voice. "Okay son, tell Ol' Sarge all about it."

===April 1, 5:28 PM, Tsunade's Office, Konoha===

Tsunade was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest thinking about Naruto. She'd rather let Danzo drag her through Konoha by her nipples, bare ass naked, than admit this to anyone... but she'd give ANYTHING to have Naruto barge into her office demanding a C-Rank, or even B-Rank Mission and calling her an old lady right now. He was the _only_ reason she'd come back and taken this Thrice Cursed job in the first place, and despite him being the emotional equivalent of a daily kick in her pussy, she really missed it. She heard the sound of a Summon behind her. "Gamakichi?" She inquired casually without even turning her head to check.

"**Hai. I got a message for ya from the General.**" Gamakichi said.

Tsunade spun around in her chair, masking her excitement and ignoring the 3 foot wall of paper behind Gamakichi. The toad opened his mouth and extended his tongue, offering her the scroll. She took it with a nod. "Thanks... anything from Naruto?" She asked casually, not looking as excited, or as anxious, as she actually was.

"**Yep.**" Gamakichi replied, then pulled a folded note from under his vest. "**You have to read the scroll first though.**"

Tsunade smirked, this was so like him to do that to her. She opened and scanned the scroll, her eyebrows going up in surprise. Thinking about it a moment, she had to admit Naruto could handle it, but there were certain things she had to do first... specifically briefing a select group of people about a certain... recent _addition_, to Konoha. "Be back here first thing tomorrow morning for my answer. Dismissed."

Gamakichi nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Tsunade picked up the note from Naruto and unfolded it as a big smile crossed her face.

* Naruto's Note *

_Hey Baa-chan,_

_This place is awesome, I've seen so much cool stuff I can't describe it all. I haven't left the base yet, but Hinata and I have our own rooms, they're really nice and they're free! Hinata doesn't want to talk about it, but she doesn't want to go back because her family doesn't care about her. I don't get it, how a family can do that to each other! But that's not what this is about. Oh, Hinata wants you to tell Kurenai-sensei that she really misses her, and her teammates._

_PS: I know there's a big pile of paperwork sitting on your desk now, they have that here too, but General Hammond doesn't get much, they solved that problem here long ago... have secretaries or the Council do it, that's probably what they're there for anyway, they just found a way to dump it on the Hokage._

_Tell everyone I miss 'em... especially Teuchi and Ayame. They have ramen here, but it's not as good._

_Love you Baa-chan_

_Naruto Uzumaki _

* End Note *

Tsunade fell back into her chair, the note dropped on her desk, a look of total shock on her face.

==1 Minute Later, Konoha===

Everyone froze and looked up at the sky when they heard what sounded like thunder, and a few moments later realized it was laughter, but who could laugh THAT loud?

===Tsunade's Office===

Shizune had rushed into Tsunade's office almost terrified, but was now standing next to Tsunade's desk... confused, especially by the huge smile on the Hokage's face, it was almost... maniacal. "Is something wrong?" Shizune asked carefully.

"I just got a message from General Hammond and a note from Naruto-kun... he solved the paperwork problem, but I'll tell you about that later." Tsunade tapped a paper laying before her. "Right now, I want the people in this memo in my office by 6:00 PM _sharp_, and I don't care what they're doing. This is an S-Ranked Priority and it supersedes _everything _else." Tsunade stated firmly as she finished adding the last name, then handed the memo to Shizune.

Shizune quickly scanned the list of names, nodded and ran from the room.

===April 1, 6:00 PM, Hokage's Office===

"Before I tell you why I summoned you here, everyone present in this room will be called upon to make a choice. What I'm about to tell you is beyond what we would normally classify as 'S-Rank', and... it will change the course of every Elemental Nation, ours especially... eventually." Tsunade paused to scan every face in this momentous meeting. She saw curiosity and nervousness, but nothing even remotely resembling fear. She nodded to herself with satisfaction and took the next step.

"Once you become fully aware of this secret, perhaps the greatest one ever entrusted to our Leaf Village... there is no turning back. Even the smallest betrayal of trust, regardless of the reason, will result in your immediate death. And, concerning anyone here as a Clan head... I must regretfully inform you that your entire Clan will suffer severe punishment as well."

Tsunade deliberately paused again as she took in every face. "If you can't, or won't, handle the weight of this secret, or even doubt for a moment that you can, leave now, without shame, forget this meeting ever occurred, and go about your normal life."

Tsunade took a deep breath. "This is your sole chance to walk away from this. And, if I feel it's needed, you will submit to an Honor Seal, the terms of which I'll tell you then." Tsunade concluded her declaration, her face unreadable, her tone flat.

In silence, everyone in the room looked about at each other, not even a murmur was heard for several long moments.

"Is this about... them?" Kakashi asked. His tone was as serious as the look in his exposed right eye.

Kurenai, sitting two chairs away from Kakashi, and next to Anko, stirred. She didn't know why, but Kakashi's simple, but odd question caused her chest to tighten, and cracked the stone mask her face had become ever since the loss of Hinata. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kakashi sitting straight, and still, his arms across his chest. Via her skills and shinobi-honed instincts, she sensed his tension... and nervousness.

Every alarm bell in her head suddenly went off... this was not the Kakashi that she, or anyone else knew. There wasn't any obvious reason for his state and it couldn't be trepidation, or doubt... her breath caught in her throat and her body stiffened. Before she could open her mouth to speak, she felt Anko's hand grasp hers and give it a squeeze. That simple gesture allowed her to regain control of herself, and await what was to come next... she hoped.

"Are you in?" Tsunade replied calmly, and held her breath as she noted Kurenai's stirring. Given everything she had done to ensure the Stargate remained a close secret until this very moment, she prayed that Kurenai would understand, and truly forgive her.

Kakashi raised his hitai-ite. "I've lost 2 members of my team, and Sakura's suffering over the status of Naruto..." He paused and took a deep breath. "And her grief, is more than I would heap on any Jonin, let alone a Genin. The fact that she's even remotely functional right now has shown me that Sakura has far more strength than I gave her credit for. And, I might add, she's _not_ the Sakura I took on that totally cocked-up mission to Wave. She's undergone a serious trial and has changed in many ways... all for the good I might add." He added silently. '_And deserves much for what's been done to her, for the sake of the 'greater good' of Konoha_.'

Kakashi shifted in his chair. "I've not been the Jonin-sensei that _all_ my Genin deserved. I can't undue the past, but I will save what's left. That's the absolute least I owe Sakura." He leaned forward in his chair. "Tsunade-sama, you couldn't throw me out of this room." The strength of his voice rang like tempered steel.

Kakashi's words, and the admission of his short-comings stirred everyone present. Guy shed tears of joy and frustration... his eternal rival had topped him again. Jiraiya hid his smile behind a fake yawn. '_Minato-kun would be proud of you my boy_.' He glanced at Kurenai and thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't the Hokage. '_It's on you now, Tsu-chan... don't blow it_.'

Tsunade smiled briefly and nodded in approval... and took his indirect scolding of her with good grace.

Shizune quietly let out the breath she'd been holding, and smiled as well.

"You know me... Bring. It. On." Anko said with a wide sadistic grin.

Kurenai nodded firmly, the neutral expression on her face a tenuous mask. On the inside, hope churned together with a growing measure of anger... if her hunch, fueled by intuition, proved correct.

"The loyalty of the Inuzuka Clan is absolute." Tsume declared fiercely, baring her large canine teeth to everyone.

Everyone else nodded in agreement, as well.

Tsunade nodded to Jiraiya who then flashed through a long series of precise hand signs, his speed worthy of a Sannin. "TOMB OF SILENCE!" Jiraiya declared, then clapped his hands together. Thick stone walls rose up to cover every window, and the only door, blocking them completely. With that done, every shadow in the room began to grow, covering the ceiling, walls and floor... painting the room in darkness. Jiraiya groaned. "I hate this jutsu, it gives me a migraine every time... it's why I don't use the damn thing."

"I know every sound and security seal we have, but I've never heard of this one... what rank is it?" Anko said.

"It's an S-Rank Seal created by the Third Hokage, and he only taught it to me. Copying it isn't a good idea either. You know that migraine I mentioned... if you don't know exactly what you're doing, and make even the smallest mistake with the hand seals, or the amount of chakra used, it _will_ kill you." Jiraiya explained, his tone earnest.

"Good thing I covered my Sharingan then." Kakashi commented with a chuckle, injecting the first moment of humor in this consequential meeting.

"Thank you, Jiraiya. And just so you all know, this seal is unbreakable, except by the user. It's also forbidden; he's done this solely on my authority." Tsunade got up from her chair, moved to the front of her desk and casually leaned against it. "Now if everyone is ready, let's get started."

Nearly everyone resettled into their chairs as Tsunade touched on the details of their current situation. "A few weeks ago I sent Naruto with Team 8 to find a Bikouchuu Beetle to track the traitor, Sasuke Uchiha... it didn't go as planned." She sighed, set her shoulders and began her disclosure. "Something happened... something _no one_ could have anticipated."

===6:30 PM===

"...and after Gamakichi departed, I sent Shizune to gather you all here for this meeting. Any questions?" Tsunade asked.

Almost every hand shot up.

"Told you." Jiraiya declared with a smirk.

"After this is over Jiraiya, the Silver Saucer, I'm buying." Tsunade replied. She scanned the crowded room, then sighed. "Let's keep this simple for now, one question each." She declared. '_May as well get to the hardest ones first_.' "Kurenai, you first."

Kurenai, barely finished with subduing her anger, flinched. "I want to send a message to Hinata, today." Kurenai replied, not fully trusting her voice after struggling with the reality of what had happened to Hinata, and Naruto.

Tsunade nodded. "Just get it to me as soon as it's ready, it _will_ reach her." Kurenai replied with a curt nod. "Okay, next... Kakashi."

Kakashi discreetly glanced at Kurenai before responding. "Your briefing covered most of the questions I would have asked. For the moment, I have two requests. Firstly, I too want to send a message to Naruto." Tsunade responded with a nod. "My second request is your permission to tell Sakura the truth about his current status. I will take full responsibility for any breech of security that arises, and any punishment you see fit to dispense." Kakashi added. "And, if Sakura wants to send any messages to Naruto, she'll do so through me, and any replies will be kept in my care to maintain secrecy."

Tsunade thought a moment, then nodded. "Agreed, on all items."

"I know you're in Anko, Tsume, so put your hands down... I might have special tasks for you both later. Inoichi, you're next." Tsunade pointed to him.

"Ibiki is probably the only person thinking what I am... so I'll keep this simple. Are you sure we can trust them?" Inoichi asked calmly.

Tsunade frowned in thought, then met Inoichi's eyes. "I trust Naruto completely, and Kurenai will vouch for Hinata's judgement of people." Kurenai nodded in agreement with Tsunade's assessment of her dearest student.

Tsunade stood away from her desk and looked about the room. "Even though Inoichi was the only one here to voice his concern aloud, I suspect many of you are wondering the same thing... can we trust these strangers. Personally, I don't blame you, nor can I find fault with that line of thinking. After all, we are shinobi... it's in our very nature to think that way." She gave them all a smile. "Hell, it's probably the chief reason _why_ many of us are still alive right now." There were chuckles, and nods at her statement. "I honestly wish there was some way I could set your doubts to rest, but I _can't_."

That admission got her the undivided attention of everyone in the room. "I've exchanged more than a few scrolls with their leader, General Hammond. I don't claim to know his mind, but I can say this: he is unlike anyone I've ever encountered in the Elemental Nations. What I've discerned from reading his, and Naruto-kun's words to me, tells me that we are dealing with a people, and a culture so totally unlike our own that we have damn few points of reference to work with." Tsunade paused in obvious thought.

"What I can tell you is that they possess a degree of openness I've only ever found in a green Genin. They seem to have a sense of duty more akin to samurai than not. And General Hammond has done nothing but offer encouragement and what I regard as helpful advice to me." Tsunade noted the air of tension beginning to ease in the room.

"I realize many of you regard Naruto as a brash idiot..." There was a scattering of smothered chuckles. "But he likes them, and he, and Hinata, trusts them. For me, that's all I need to know. And, for what it's worth, they come across to me as potentially better, and more open allies, than those we have sworn treaties with."

Ibiki snorted in derision. "Given the past behavior of some of our allies, that's _not_ a very high wall to jump over." Ibiki's comment caused many heads to nod in agreement.

'_Apparently Suna isn't off the hook, yet_.' Tsunade thought, then sighed. "That's true enough, but I'm hoping we can put that matter behind us now. As it stands now, we have far greater problems before us." She smiled as she noted the mood of everyone there shifted.

"I regard everyone in this room to be intelligent enough to understand what will happen when the other Elemental Nations, and their associated hidden villages get suspicious of the goings-on, and changes here in Konoha." Tsunade let the murmurs die down before continuing. "Not to mention the traitor, Orochimaru." A wave of curses and groans swept the room.

Anko shifted in her chair and faced the assembled Jonin. "He will come. I'll bet my life savings on that happening... and this time he'll probably sucker Iwa into coming along as well." The room fell silent at her comment. The prospect of an army of Iwa-nins, led by the Sannin traitor was not a pretty picture.

Kakashi spoke up. "We're going to need all the allies we can gather... and damn strong ones at that, quickly." Several heads nodded at that statement.

Tsunade took a step forward and put her fists on her hips. "Precisely so." She directed her gaze at Kurenai. "That's why I've kept this secret so close, and done all that I have. And, why it has to remain a secret for as much time as we can possibly buy." Kurenai looked at Tsunade for a moment, frowned, and nodded slowly.

"Hiashi, you and Ibiki didn't raise your hands, but I trust him..." Nodding at Ibiki. "...so don't need to ask if he's in. However, you..." Turning her gaze to Hiashi. "...on the other hand may be loyal to Konoha, but you also have... issues. I won't bring it up in present company, so I'll only say this once, and I don't want to hear even a word of argument. Hinata will stay where she is, for as long as she wants to, and she will not be forced to return to your clan when they find a way to connect to our gate. And, as I had said previously, she trusts them... the secrets of the Byakuugan are safe. Understood?" Tsunade declared, then glared at Hiashi coldly.

Hiashi nodded his acknowledgement of the Hokage's position, for the moment there was little else he could do.

Tsunade turned to her final guests and sighed. "Shibi, Choza, I know you're both in, even if you didn't raise your hands, and your loyalty has never been an issue. So, that just leaves you... spit it out Shikaku, what's on your mind?"

The Nara clan leader stirred in his chair. "I'd like to say that this is the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard, and that you're drunk out of your skull... but we all know how you feel about Naruto. If he really was missing or in danger, you wouldn't be this calm. So, I have no choice but to believe it's all true. So, my question is this..." Shikaku Nara said tiredly, then opened his lidded eyes and smiled at her. "Do I tell Shikamaru how he'll be helping, or do you want to do it?"

Tsunade clenched her jaw a moment, let out a loud sigh, and hung her head. "Oh fuck me sideways." She muttered to herself, then raised her head. "That son of yours is too damn smart for his own good. As much as I want to leave him out of this, I'm better off just letting him in now. I'll send an ANBU for both of you tomorrow when I'm ready. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky and this will light a fire under his lazy ass."

"Don't bet on it." Shikaku replied with a smirk. His answer caused a wave of chuckles to sweep the room.

"Before I end this meeting, do you have anything to add Jiraiya?" Tsunade said tiredly as she looked up at him, ignoring the smirk on Shizune's face.

"Yes, I do." He moved closer to her desk. "We're going to need a code name for Hammond. I suggest we refer to him from now on as the Shogun."

Tsunade nodded and smiled. "So noted."

"So, now can I release the seal?" Jiraiya replied with a subtle smirk.

Tsunade glanced at the wall clock and noticed him holding that notebook behind his back. "They don't start till 7:00, you still have time to get there... pervert. I trust the Oath won't be needed... good, release it Jiraiya, then everyone is dismissed."

Jiraiya released the seal and waited until the last person left. "Private booth, 9:00?"

Tsunade nodded. "What the Hell, I'm up for a late dinner with an old friend. Just remember that's all this is."

"Just friends celebrating old times, understood." Jiraiya said, smirked then leapt out the open window.

===Outside the Hokage's Office===

"So, do you want to get something to eat?" Anko glanced at Kurenai.

Kurenai shook her head no and kept walking. "Not hungry."

Anko moved closer and matched her pace. "Wanna get drunk and fool around?"

A new voice responded. "That sounds like fun." Both female Jonin turned their heads... and saw Kakashi walking behind them, neither one had sensed his presence. He eye-smiled and waved. "Yo."

Kurenai increased her walking speed... Anko and Kakashi matched it. Kakashi spoke again, his voice subdued. "For the record, I was against the Hokage's decision to leave you in the dark."

Kurenai suddenly halted and spun on her heel. Anko sighed, "I'm going to go and get hammered, you know where to find me." She leapt towards the nearest roof-top and disappeared.

Barely acknowledging Anko's departure, Kurenai glared at Kakashi. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Kakashi's gaze turned serious. "No. But it would have made me feel better." He took a step forward and whispered, "And if it had been up to me, I would have spared Sakura the hell she's been in these past few weeks." He closed the remaining distance until they were almost touching. "And I refused... Tsunade's offer to communicate with Naruto."

Kurenai flinched in surprise, and leaned closer... her body lightly touched his. "Why?"

Kakashi cocked his head and sighed, she could feel his breath, even though masked, on her face. "Because you were denied that opportunity, and so was Sakura. I decided, perhaps selfishly, that if I couldn't share the truth with you, I could at least share your suffering." He gave Kurenai a faint eye smile. "It seemed to me... to be the right thing to do."

"Baka." Kurenai shook her head. "Naruto's probably dying to hear from you."

Kakashi snorted. "I doubt it. I've been a terrible Sensei, and I've made more mistakes than I care to count."

Kurenai frowned at his self-assessment. "Does this mean you're abandoning Sakura too?"

Kakashi fell silent, his face thoughtful. After a few moments, he shook his head. "No, I'd never do that to her, not after what she's been through. I intend to help her any way I can, but... I'm not sure I can give her what she truly needs."

Kurenai pressed herself against him as she whispered into his ear. "You are a truly hopeless baka, Kakashi Hatake." She took a step back and smiled. "Want to get some dinner?"

Kakashi blinked. "I thought you said you weren't hungry."

"Baka." She turned on her heel and looked back at him. "It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind you know."

Kakashi nodded. "True." He moved forward and joined her. "By the way, are you writing that letter to Hinata tonight?"

Kurenai nodded. "Absolutely." She turned to Kakashi. "Are you going to write to Naruto?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. I'm not sure what I'll put in it though; I've got a lot to say, but I've never been good at writing."

Kurenai giggled. "Now _that_ is a surprise given the fact that you're constantly reading those... smutty books of yours."

Kakashi patted the vest pocket on his Jonin vest. "Nonsense, you can't possibly be referring the literary masterpieces I'm so fond of." He leaned over and looked her in the eye. "If you read them, perhaps you'd understand the greatness of Icha Icha."

Kurenai snorted. "As if I'd read such... engines of lust and perversion."

In the shadow of a near-by roof top water tank...

"What are you doing here... you pervert?" Anko took a bite of her dango. "Don't you have a bathhouse to peep into?"

"That's Super Pervert to you... little girl. Besides, the hot springs aren't going anywhere." Jiraiya's pencil flew as he scribbled like a madman into his notebook. "Almighty Kami... this stuff is golden."

Anko watched Kurenai and Kakashi walk down the street, she chuckled as her friend slapped Kakashi's hand away from his vest pocket. "So... you gonna peep in on them later to see if Kakashi get's lucky?"

Jiraiya stopped writing for a moment. "Hmm... can't say. I've got a drinking date with Tsunade later. I make it a point not to write if I get shit-faced... the notes are too hard to figure out when that happens."

Anko nodded. "Good idea. I do the same thing for mission briefings." Anko threw her now-bare dango stick at a passing rat, pinning it to a wall. "Ya know... somebody could take notes for you..."

Jiraiya briefly glanced at Anko and continued scribbling. "What's your price?"

Anko grinned slyly. "A signed first-edition of your next release."

Jiraiya pondered her offer for about... one second. "Deal." He returned to his note-taking, then frowned. "Aren't you worried about her being angry with you..."

Anko laughed, and turned... as she leapt away, Jiraiya heard her comment. "Silly man, if it's the right person... she likes being watched."

Jiraiya began scribbling furiously.

===April 2, 8:13 AM, Tsunade's Office===

Tsunade looked at the pink-haired girl slumped in her chair, passed out cold. She sighed and looked at the only other person in the room. "She took it better than I expected."

"Her fainting _was_ unexpected, but overall I have to agree, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi commented.

"After this meeting I'm combining Teams 7 and 8; you'll share authority with Kurenai for training and missions, but in a combat situation, if need be, you'll take command as the Senior Jonin. Now wake her up... gently, this is going to be a long day." Tsunade replied, and sighed as she slowly shook her head.

===April 2, 6:35 AM, Stargate Command, Personal Quarters Area===

Jeri took one last look at his uniform (favored by the Spec Ops crowd), using the full-length mirror attached to the inside door of his closet. Nodding in approval at his appearance, he shut the door and moved to his desk to retrieve his cherished green beret. Just as his hand touched it, there was a knock at the entry door. Noting the code, he put his headgear on as he made for the door, and opened it. "'Morning, sir." He joined Ric in the hallway and locked the door behind him.

"'Morning, Jeri. And by the way, thanks for lending me your ear last night."

"No problem boss, you needed it." He gave Ric a double-pat on the back. "I must say, when you do something, you don't think small."

"Thanks... I think." He yawned and started walking. "So, is the coffee in this oversized gopher hole worth mentioning?"

Hayes nodded with a smile. "It works for me." He glanced down at his friend's pants legs and noticed the bulges in the cargo pockets. "Boss...do you have what I think you have down there?"

Ric followed his Sergeant's eyes and smiled. "Yup, I've got two of them with me. They're great ice-breakers, don't ya think?"

Jeri shook his head. "Sometimes I worry about you, sir."

Ric gave his friend a gentle tap on the arm. "Have I ever objected to your hobby, Sergeant Shine?"

Hayes gave out a loud sigh. "No sir."

Von Krieger nodded in satisfaction, an odd smile on his face. "Good, then we're all square."

===April 2, 12:30 PM, Stargate Command, Conference Room, Earth===

Naruto was sitting at the long table again, but this time it was after his first mission with SG1. He couldn't help but smile at how similar it was to the Wave Mission. It started boring, but then something big happened... okay, it didn't turn into a life and death fight like that one did, but it was still really exciting.

And, even if it had been boring, it STILL beat sitting around this base, but he had to admit he really liked hanging out with Hinata... then he realized he hadn't thought much about Sakura in several days, and that he'd totally forgotten she even existed since Hinata had protected him in that Temple.

All his thoughts were now focused on Hinata. He glanced at her, sitting to his right, and smiled at her. She blushed slightly, then smiled back. '_She didn't faint!_' He thought, almost stunned. She'd definitely gotten stronger on that planet, she wasn't afraid anymore, and unlike Sakura, she liked him.

Naruto got anxious as Jack got to the part where he made all those Shadow Clones and sent them off.

"_Wait_. What's this about how fast Naruto's clones went?" Gen Hammond asked.

"There was a path we took, it may of been a dirt road at one time, sir. It took us an hour to move 10 miles to that clearing... one of Naruto's Shadow Clones made it back to the Stargate in 20 minutes by jumping from tree to tree. I figure he was moving about 30 miles an hour." Sam explained, still amazed by it all.

"I was rushing... well, my clone was, but that wasn't my best speed. That was about 60... maybe 70 percent of my top speed." Naruto stated proudly, a huge smile on his face. If he used 1 tail worth of Kyuubi's chakra he could do at least double that, but even if he was allowed, he didn't know if they could handle it, and he wasn't going to risk losing their trust until he could talk to Tsunade. She was the closest thing he had to family... despite how he treated her sometimes.

His eyes shifted from Naruto to Sam. "Are you sure Major Carter?" Gen Hammond asked, clearly amazed by this information.

"I can run that fast, and I could show you... but there's not enough room down here." Naruto replied, slightly sad.

"If I may make a suggestion." Hinata asked politely, unsure of the protocol for these kind of meetings.

Sam grinned. "It's okay to interrupt Hinata, this is an... ah, an open forum." Sam explained. She'd done a little research with Daniel about any Japanese customs that they might use, especially given Hinata's formal upbringing.

Hinata smiled and nodded to her. "Thank you Sam. You have other... gymnasiums, correct?" Hinata asked, and got a couple of nods of agreement. "If you'll give us 40 minutes alone in the largest one, Naruto and I will come up with a demonstration of our shinobi skills you'll find most impressive. Once you've seen what we can do, I believe you'll be ready to start your chakra training."

Sam and Daniel smiled proudly, both were close to Hinata in their own way. They already discussed it amongst the team, and Dr Fraiser. Hinata was more alike Daniel and Sam, and Naruto alike Jack and Teal'c. And both of them had their own special relationship with Dr Fraiser.

"Sounds like a plan to me sir." Jack concurring with a smile.

"I'll arrange something." Gen Hammond promised. "Now, please continue your report."

===April 2, 8:20 AM, Tsunade's Office===

Unlike a typical meeting in the Hokage's office, with Tsunade behind the desk, and the object of her attention in front of it, this one was taking place on the long couch positioned against the right-hand wall of her spacious office. Tsunade leaned forward, her face earnest. "Can you handle this Sakura? Because if you can't, then tell me now... because if you break your promise to me, as much as it would bother me... I'll be forced to take... extreme measures, against you, your mother, and anyone you told, to protect Konoha."

In spite of her close proximity, Sakura returned her Hokage's gaze evenly. "Yes, Hokage-sama." The early morning visit by Kakashi-sensei had caught her by surprise, but when she realized he was bringing her before the Hokage, an odd sense of relief washed over her. While she had no indication as to why she had been summoned, to her... Sakura regarded it as a finale to the horrible turn her life had taken, even if it ended her life, anything was better than her current hellish existence.

For her, the news that Naruto was alive and well was akin to dangling a cup of water before a wretched prisoner just out of their reach. The conditions for obtaining the welcome news had been utterly strict... she could tell no one, nor give any indication she even regarded Naruto as anything less than another shinobi on the 'missing in action' list. While the news that he was safe eased her empty heart, the wall of secrecy she had to live behind, as the price for that bit of news, was maddening.

She had to do something, anything, to work past this. She took a deep breath and repeated to herself. "Yes, Hokage-sama, I accept your conditions without reservation. I need to do more, much more than I have." She gripped her hands together tightly. "Hokage-sama, may I ask you a question?"

Tsunade blinked in surprise. "Of course you can. Please, ask away."

The dark circles of sleeplessness and tension under Sakura's eyes accented the look in their jade-green color. "Have you ever, in your long career as a kunoichi, come to a point where you realized that all you had done was a hollow, awful joke?"

The question, and the look in her eyes caused Tsunade's breath to catch in her throat. Her mind flashed backwards to that dark day she stared down at her beloved Dan's bloody, lifeless body and screamed out her rage to the world. The emptiness, and helplessness of that moment gripped her like an iron vise... she clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking and shut her eyes as forced all those old devils back into their boxes. Once she was sure that it was safe, Tsunade reopened her eyes and returned Sakura's stare. "Yes, that moment came to me once... long ago." Tsunade sighed and looked away and whispered. "And I chose to run away because of it."

Sakura nodded, through many different sources, she had a fair idea what Tsunade meant by her response. Sakura nodded. "I know that I am a pathetic, weak and useless shinobi of my village. I've harmed my teammates, made horrible choices, and wronged... and used one of the few people in my life that offered me honest friendship, and true affection. I want to change all that, Hokage-sama, I want to be the kind of kunoichi that... Naruto would be proud of, and worthy of being his friend. I also wish to be worthy of the village I serve, and do all that I can on it's behalf."

Sakura rose from the couch and properly knelt before Tsunade, touched her head to the floor and sat upright. "Even if this path leads to my death, I will not stray from it. I refuse to run away, Hokage-sama, and I refuse to quit." She bowed a second time, and as she rose, she pulled a kunai from her leg holster and gently laid it on the floor between them, the tip of it pointed towards herself. "This I pledge to you, my Hokage." Sakura slid the kunai towards Tsunade. "If you doubt me capable, or worthy, end my life now. If redemption is beyond my reach, then grant me death." Sakura bent her head downward and waited.

Tsunade glanced at Kakashi, standing nearby. She flinched in surprise when she saw his hitai-ite raised and his Sharingan active. She knew what it meant... whatever happened next, he would bear witness to it, and remember that moment to the end of his days. She looked back at Sakura and thought, '_Would that I had been this determined, this strong, when my moment of doubt, and emptiness came to me_.'

Tsunade slid off the couch and knelt before Sakura, who looked up when she sensed her movement. Sakura's eyes widened as she watched her Hokage bow deeply, then rise with a smile. "I accept your pledge of determination, and the reaffirmation of your loyalty and devotion to Konoha, *Sakura-kun." Tsunade reached down and handed the kunai back with a smile.

At that, Tsunade stood up and motioned for Sakura to rise, and walked over to her desk. "Go relax, you're relieved of duty until further notice..." She added, then opened a drawer in her desk, removed and quickly filled out a small form, pushing it across her desk towards Sakura. "Take this to the office where you usually get your pay for completed missions." She gave Sakura a reassuring smile. "I believe Ino has some time off, go find her, hang out, go shopping... anything that comes to mind. Tomorrow come back here and I'll brief you further concerning your new duties, and responsibilities." Her face turned serious. "But above all else, be ready. Things are happening all about us, and when the time comes, all of us will face a time of great trial." Tsunade brought her smile back out. "You're dismissed. Enjoy this day, and remember it always."

Sakura bowed deeply and returned Tsunade's smile. "I shall, Hokage-sama." At that, she and Kakashi left, and quietly closed the door behind them.

Tsunade glanced at her almost clear desk and smiled, after the special meeting held last night, she'd had Shizune do a thorough check to confirm her suspicions. Naruto had hit the nail on the head, so she'd immediately ordered everything reorganized, and formed a permanent Business Council, and assigned to a chamber downstairs. As of now, they'd be the ones dealing with the daily paperwork, as it should of been all along; nothing below a B-Rank document was ever meant to reach her desk. She stood, glanced around a moment, then a very Naruto-like smile crossed her face, and she danced around to the front of her desk, and then to the center of her office.

She'd done it, she had finally slain the paperwork monster.

Tsunade stopped as a thought entered her mind, more of a memory really. "This calls for a very special reward." She declared, then resealed the room and made a very special hand sign. "ULTAMITE SEXY JUTSU!" She yelled out, and was briefly engulfed in smoke. It faded a moment later. She was still standing there, but now smoke was swirling around her chest and waist, the reason... she was totally nude and in her 18 year-old body. Her breasts nearly as large, but much rounder, and firmer.

===That moment, Earth, Stargate Command===

Naruto shuttered as if a lightning bolt had shot up his spine.

"What's the matter Naruto, is something wrong?" Hinata asked, concerned by the look on his face.

"I know this sounds weird... but I feel like I just got beaten by my own jutsu." Naruto replied, slightly shaken.

"Which jutsu?" Hinata asked curiously.

Naruto blushed subtly. "I'd rather not say."

Hinata shrugged and nodded, then returned her attention to the picture book Sam had given her.

===Hokage Tower, Waiting Room, Konoha===

Shizune looked up from her desk, then did a double take when she saw the smile on Tsunade's face. She'd NEVER seen her smile like that. This meant 1 of 2 things: either she was in a very good mood... or someone was about to die a very... very, violent death. "Is anything wrong Tsunade-sama?" She asked cautiously.

"Nothing is wrong, I'm going to Kinomi's to get some ice cream, then probably drop by The Iron Kimono for a little shopping and girl talk with Hotaru. Be back later." Tsunade replied in a cheery voice.

Shizune watched Tsunade wave, turn and walk out... she was absolutely stymied. "It's not the paperwork, that was yesterday... and it couldn't have been the meeting with Sakura and Kakashi... so why is she so happy?"

===April 2, 7:20 AM, Main Cafeteria, SGC===

"So you gonna eat that?" Ric pointed his fork at the corn muffin on Jeri's tray. Hayes shook his head and passed it over without comment. Ric happily snapped it up and took a bite of it. "How long do you think it's going to take?"

Jeri looked up from his now empty tray. "Oh, I reckon it'll all be finished by mid-afternoon."

"Ah... that. I guess so." Ric waved his fork. "No, I was referring to our packages from Okinawa."

"Oh yeah, well...the Old Man mentioned it might take about... um, a week or so to get here." Jeri wiped his hands with a napkin and leaned back. "When do you think your stuff from Moscow will arrive?" He frowned when he saw his friend's face darken.

"My friend Tom promised me that he'd try to get it all through customs and here a couple of weeks." Ric shook his head slowly. "Part of me is kinda worried, she had a talent for finding antiques, nice ones too. With my luck, they'll probably indict me for trying to smuggle National Treasures out of Mother Russia." He chuckled at an old memory, "You know, she even found an old iron bed that the dealer swore on his mother's grave that it had been owned by Trotsky no less."

Jeri smiled to himself as he saw some of his friend's true nature peeking out. "Do you think it's true?"

Ric waved his hand. "Who knows?" He added with a chuckle, "Heck, 50 plus years ago, the owner of that bed would have been shot, or jailed, as a counter-revolutionary." Ric shook his head. "At any rate, it was a heavy bastard; I had to pay the movers a 200% tip to motivate their sorry asses."

Jeri gave his friend a tight grin. "Shit, I could have gotten their butts in gear for a whole lot less than that." They shared a laugh at the thought of that scenario.

"The Ruskies are a contrary bunch, one minute they wave stuff through, next minute they impound everything... until you offer somebody the right incentive." Ric rubbed his fingers together meaningfully.

Jeri snorted. "Them and the rest of planet. I swear, we probably have some of the last honest folks running things around here. Relatively speaking, of course." He glanced about and noticed that he and Ric were the object of attention by more than a few groups of SGC personnel. He smiled and commented, "Looks like we've got admirers already, boss."

Von Krieger stood up, his tray in hand. "Don't worry, Jeri. Pretty soon they'll get to know us better. Then they'll all be running away, screaming in fear."

Hayes gave him an eye smile. "Nah, it'll be that aftershave you bought in Cambodia."

===April 2, 2:38 PM, Administrative Services, SGC===

"Please look at the white dot sir." The petite, red-headed Sergeant adjusted the camera to his height. "Smiles are optional." She added with a twinkle in her hazel eyes.

Blinking from the post-flash glare, he stood up. "So, am I done here?"

Sergeant Molly Cameron looked over the check-list. "No Major, you've got one final stop, and then you'll be an official member of Stargate Command."

Von Krieger froze in mid-rise from his chair, and stared at the admin clerk. "Wait, say again all after..."

Sergeant Cameron gave a puzzled look. "I said you have one final stop to go, sir."

Ric waved his finger. "Nyet, the _other _part. The, I'm a member of SGC part."

"Oh, that part." She leafed through his orders again. After a few moments she looked back up and smiled. "Your orders were appended, sir." The sergeant dug some more... her eyebrows shot up. "Wow, your transfer was signed by the Secretary of the Army himself." She looked again, her smile got bigger. "And you'll never believe who counter-signed it."

Von Krieger held up his hand. "It's better that I not know." He added under his breath, "I may have to vote for the man." He turned towards Hayes, who was 3 desks over. "Sarge! It's a trap! Run for it."

Sergeant Cameron giggled cutely. "Don't forget your ID, sir. Please wear it at all times."

Major Von Krieger uttered some particularly choice words, loudly. Fortunately for everyone present, none of them spoke Russian.

===April 2, 2:54 PM, Hallway, Infirmary Level, SGC===

Hayes made a hand-sign that Ric immediately noticed, and recognized. He walked closer. He used his subdued patrol voice. "What's the matter, Jeri?"

"I'm getting that feel'n again, Boss. That's the third time since this morning." Hayes did a quick, look back maneuver. "Someone, or something, has their eye on us." He answered quietly.

Ric frowned at his companion's statement. He shouldn't be saying something like that in a facility like this; there were few places on the planet as secure as Stargate Command. But, given the number of times Hayes had averted certain death with his danger sense, he couldn't blow it off like the other 98% of the human race would. No, this was one of those things that Sergeant Hayes was always right about. Ric thought about it for a moment. "Is your trigger-finger twitching?"

After Jeri pondered the question for a moment, then his frown diminished. "Nope... it ain't." He paused in mid-stride and stared at the large, mostly full, paper coffee cup in his hand. In a loud voice, he said, "It must be this crap office coffee that's doing it." He did an about face, strode over to a metal trash can about 20' away, pushed the flap open and tossed the cup in. That done, he re-joined Ric and shrugged. "Let's get that medical inspection over with. Who knows boss, maybe the Doc will flunk us, and send us on our way."

Ric laughed. "Not a chance in hell, Jeri. We're too damn healthy for our own good." Von Krieger turned towards their final objective, the Infirmary, and started towards it getting in step with Hayes.

===5 minutes later===

The metal trash can was surrounded by a puff of smoke; in it's place was a kneeling Naruto... his hair and jacket soaked, and smelly. He thought to himself. '_The boss better appreciate this_.' He stared down the hallway, his targets were gone... the new faces that had caught his eye. The Shadow Clone stood up, made a hand sign, and with a 'poof' henged into an SP. The altered version of Naruto's clone walked off in a new direction, smiling to himself. '_I know where they'll be for awhile. May as well grab a cheeseburger and a Dew_.'

===April 2, 3:25 PM, Infirmary, SGC===

"Thank you for waiting Major, I do apologize for the interruption."

"That's quite alright, Doctor Fraiser. I can easily imagine that you're a busy woman, given the circumstances."

Janet gave the man before her, clad only in a paper robe, an appraising look. "Oh, why would you think that, Major?"

Von Krieger gave her a lop-sided smile. "Simple logic, Doc. Security measures aside, enough stories..." Ric's hands made quotation marks with his fingers. "...have made their way into various circles. I know what this place is, and what it potentially means to _be_ here. Hence, a busy medical staff." He noted the alarmed look on her face. "Don't worry about it too much Doctor, Stargate Command's secrets are quite safe. The boys at Langley like to gossip as much as anybody, but they do go about it differently than house-wives sharing a fence."

Janet Fraiser smiled in spite of herself, the man before her was a typical example of the military macho she had seen before, but the serious light in his eyes hinted at something else. "Well, that's good to hear. Things could get difficult if SGC's business became common knowledge."

"Absolutely. I know something about the dangers of culture shock, and I've seen first-hand the results of cultural contamination." She saw his eyes darken. "It isn't pretty, and rarely ends well." He audibly exhaled. "I wish it were other-wise, but like Pandora's Box, once the lid is opened, there's no going back."

The Major's words gave her pause. The sexist male cloak she had seen him wrapped in was gone. She had spent enough time at SGC to understand the weight of his words. Janet thought about the events and adventures her friends, members of SG1 had gone through. "Sometimes it can't be helped, Major." She replied.

The man before her nodded his head. "I know, but that doesn't make it feel any better." He got off the examination table and stood before her. "Oh, I want to apologize beforehand."

Janet gave him a puzzled frown. "What for?"

Without preamble, he shed his robe and laid it on the exam table. "I have the long-standing habit of going commando, the team medics prefer we forego such things, it's one less thing to cut away when it comes time to patch us up."

In spite of her profession experience, she paused for a second. The man in front of her had an extensive collection of healed lacerations, large and small; several scars obviously caused by bullet wounds; a couple of poorly healed burns; and, a long ragged scar up the outside of his right thigh. The latter-most item caught her attention... she did her professional best to ignore the other, considerable, weapon he'd smuggled in as she traced the scar with her eyes.

Ric saw where her eyes had gone to. "It was a bayonet, and a dull one at that." He explained helpfully.

Janet reached down and traced it with a finger-tip. "It must have bled a great deal." She commented.

Ric snorted, "Like a stuck pig. But I didn't mind it at the time; he was aiming for my groin. As my hands were full at the time, I used my leg to deflect the lunge." His voice dropped. "He missed, I didn't."

Janet felt a momentary chill at the tone of his voice. Taking in a deep breath, she stood up and tapped her clipboard with a pen. "Well, don't worry about your state of dress, Major...I've seen it all before." She pulled a pair of gloves from the pocket of her clinical coat and put them on. "Let's get this done, so I can send you on your merry way."

===Several minutes later===

"Just a few more questions and we're done, Major." Janet paused and tapped her clipboard. "Before I forget, does canities run in your family?"

Ric's eyes looked upward. "Yes, on my mother's side of the family. My hair began graying when I was..." He thought about for a second. "Yes... I was 7 when it began to gray; it turned all silvery around the age of 13."

Dr Fraiser gave Von Krieger a sympathetic smile. "It must have made for a trying childhood."

Ric gave her a grin. "Yes, and no. Given the fact that my Mom's family was known for that trait, my peers really didn't give me any grief over it. On the other hand, the Inuits a couple of islands over... some of them didn't mind it, others did. The local shaman, Luke Three Bears, said, 'the spirits walked with me', or something like that."

Janet thought for a moment. "Inuits... ah, you're from Alaska."

Ric lightly clapped his hands. "Right in one. Yup, I'm from the lower part of the state... the Inside Passage, born in Petersburg."

Dr Fraiser smiled. "That's interesting, we only have a few native Alaskans here at SGC." She tapped her clipboard again. "Let's get these questions out of the way, and then we'll be finished."

"Works for me." Ric looked over at his clothes. "I take it I can get dressed now." Ric noted that for the umpteenth time, her gaze flicked downward.

Her professional manner a bit frayed, she motioned for him to get dressed. "Yes, please."

Dr Fraiser focused on her clipboard as her patient got re-dressed. "Do you smoke?"

Ric bit back the standard comedic answer, given her degree of distraction. "Occasionally."

Janet bit her tongue and asked, "Describe occasionally."

Ric grunted humorously. "Social, or diplomatic affairs, or if I'm out in the field to chase the bugs away." He watched her scribble something in her notes.

"Are you on any medications?"

Ric paused in thought. "Does vodka count?"

Janet successfully converted a laugh into a humorous snort. "No." She bit her knuckle, took a deep breath and asked, "Are you sexually active?"

Ric paused in putting on his pants, and looked over his shoulder. "Given the fact that you examining the scratches on my back and 'hmm'ed' at the bite mark on my left shoulder, I'm going to regard _that_ as a rhetorical question."

Janet grabbed her 'inner Janet' in a hammer-lock, cleared her throat and scribbled yes in her notes. She paused for a moment in thought. "Do I need to run any tests on you?"

Ric frowned and fastened his belt. "I'm not sure I get your drift, Doctor."

She sat up in her chair. "You mentioned that you were posted in Moscow. Given the incidence rate of HIV..." The remainder of that statement died in her throat when she saw the look in his eyes.

"There's _no_ danger of that, Doc." Von Krieger's voice had a final tone to it.

"But..." She froze as he stood up and sharpened his gaze on her.

"Is the status of doctor-patient in effect?" Ric asked calmly.

Doctor Fraiser blinked in surprise. The question gave her a chance to regain her composure. "Of course it is." She even managed to put a hurt tone in her voice.

Ric put on, and buttoned his jacket in silence. That done, he stepped towards her; Doctor Fraiser willed herself to be still. He addressed her in low, clear voice, "The woman in question is an FSB Spetsnaz assassin. She probably has access to the best doctors, and medical care in the Russian Federation." He maintained that stare for a long moment. "I trust that settles this issue, yes?" Janet clearly nodded in the affirmative.

Ric gave her a brief, cold smile. "Good." He let go of her with his eyes. "For the record, I don't frolic with whores, or questionable women, unless it's a 'mission-related' matter. Period." He locked eyes with her again. "It wouldn't do for you to mistake her for one of those women... agreed?

She shrank in her chair. "I'm sorry if you took it that way, Major."

That said, he smiled and waved his hand. "Consider it water under the bridge, Doc. You were only doing your job, and for that, I thank you."

Janet straightened her posture. "You're welcome, Major." She ventured a smile. "You're free to go, and fit for duty."

Ric looked up from lacing his boots on. "Ah. Hurray for me." His ironic tone nudged her curiosity.

"Is there something wrong, Major?" She asked, slightly confused by his comment.

He stood up, fully redressed. "That depends on your point of view, I suppose. I was originally ordered here as an instructor, I've since then discovered that my, and Sergeant Hayes' orders, have been appended... it would appear that he and I are now full members of the Club SGC."

Dr Fraiser's eyes widened. "Oh. I see."

Von Krieger gave her a humorless smile. "I'm glad someone does." She heard his knuckles 'crack' as he tightened his fists. "My next stop is to find Jack, and have a chat with him."

Dr Fraiser stood up and suddenly all the dots connected. '_Oh my God_.' "Ah... Major, you wouldn't happen to be referring to Colonel O'Neill, would you?" That cold smile of his reappeared. '_Oh shit_.' She watched that unnerving smile reach his eyes.

"Oh goody, you appear to know him." He paused in thought. "Ah... silly me, you're the Chief Medical Officer, _of _course you know him." He hmm'ed. "And maybe where he is right now." That smile widened. "Perhaps Lady Luck hasn't abandoned me after all."

Dr Fraiser, on the inside, was in a near panic. '_If he goes storming off to find Jack, he'll likely encounter Naruto and Hinata. I 'know' that General Hammond wanted to manage that event. I've got to do something_.'

Dr Fraiser went for broke. "Major, I seriously doubt Jack had any hand in this turn of events. In fact, I'll wager that he'll be just as surprised, and upset as you over this matter." She put her fists on her hips. "And frankly, I'm disappointed that you'd even consider him being involved in your..." Janet paused for the best word.

"Being Shanghaied." Ric supplied helpfully. "You misunderstand me, Doctor. All that you've said is probably quite true. I've known Jack O'Neill for a long time, this isn't his style."

Janet's brain locked up in confusion. "Then why on Earth would you want to find him and do God-knows-what to him?"

Ric gave Dr Fraiser an it's obvious look. "Well, it's either him, or his boss."

Janet stared at Von Krieger, speechless.

A third voice joined the conversation. "Is there a problem, Major?"

Janet and Ric turned to the voice. Standing in the doorway was General Hammond. Both of them came to attention, but Von Krieger did so, slowly. He saluted Hammond. "That depends, sir."

Gen Hammond's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, how's that?"

Major Von Krieger looked Hammond dead in the eyes. "Given the change in orders, after their issuance, it would seem that a bit of give-and-take might be in order, sir."

Gen Hammond smiled inwardly. '_This might be easier than I thought_.' He nodded and smiled. "I trust your conditions aren't too extravagant."

Major Von Krieger returned the smile. "Not in the least, General."

Gen Hammond paused in mock consideration. "Name them, and I'll decide that, Major."

"Fair enough, sir." Von Krieger stared at the ceiling for a few moments. "Master Sergeant Hayes and myself are permitted to retain our headgear, and our combat and service badges, and our branch-related items."

Gen Hammond made a show of pondering the matter. '_Damn, Jack was right on the money... let them retain the 'honors', and their 'tokens of service' and they'll go along for the ride_.'

He mentally shrugged. '_Well, it's better than them raising holy hell in our midst. Jack did warn me that they'd sooner go in the brig than give up their berets. Okay, I get what I want, they get to keep their 'identity'. That's an easy swap_.'

Gen Hammond sighed loudly. "You've got a deal, Major."

Von Krieger looked at Dr Fraiser. "You're the witness, Doc. A fair trade means fair service." Janet chose to simply nod in agreement. He turned back to Hammond, "Your orders, sir."

Gen Hammond smiled, "Still pending, Major... all of the details need to be worked out yet."

Von Krieger shook his head. "I see things haven't changed that much, sir. Oh, and one last thing, sir."

Gen Hammond eyed the Major. "And what might that be?"

Von Krieger smiled. "I have some Intel for you sir, but I believe that matter should be discussed in private."

Gen Hammond looked openly curious. "I see. Is it important?"

Von Krieger nodded. "It concerns their gate, sir."

"Oh." Hammond frowned. "I see. Very well, I'll call your quarters later, I trust you'll be in after... 2000 hrs?"

"I'll make a point of it, sir." Ric smiled at his new commander.

Gen Hammond nodded. "Until later, Major." He turned and walked out of the clinic.

Dr Fraiser found her voice. "What the hell was that?"

Ric gave her a tight grin. "A fair trade... sorta." He gave her a polite nod and put his beret on.

"Major, before you go, could you answer 2 questions for me?"

He gave her a curious look. "I guess so, fire away Doc."

"What's her name? And, earlier you said that your hands were full. With what? I can't imagine anything that a soldier would be carrying that couldn't be dropped, if it meant his life was at stake."

Von Krieger turned halfway to the entrance, he wore a soft, genuine smile. "Her name is Irina. The other..." His eyes reflected a memory, she didn't know why, but felt his sadness. "The other answer... I was carrying a child, a infant girl." Von Krieger turned without further comment, and walked away.

Janet watched him leave, genuinely stunned, and more than a little impressed. His military record was impressive enough to earn him her professional respect, but her personal opinion of him, that had started quite low. Up to this point he'd only raised it a few notches as she gained further insight into who he really was. But his final statement, in her book, kicked her opinion of him up a full level. Sam had done almost the same thing for her adopted daughter Cassandra.

Those thoughts caused Janet to drop some of her emotional walls she used on duty, unfortunately one of these let the image of Ric's manhood return to the front of her mind, bringing up other suppressed thoughts. Namely, the fact that she'd only encountered 3 other men that matched, or exceeded Ric.

Unfortunately, 2 of them were her close friends and regular patients, the other was her newest patient, who made Ric look average by comparison. It didn't help her focus any that she hasn't had sex in almost 9 years, not to mention her own impressive endowments were very neglected.

Outside the Infirmary, a dozen or so yards down the hallway, Hayes stood waiting. Ric gave his friend a smile. "I got it, Jeri."

Hayes cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure, boss?"

Von Krieger nodded vigorously. "Yup. I told the General that we were to retain our 'branch-related items', he agreed to that term. He either didn't understand, or realize what that could entail. Or he knew it, and didn't care. Either way, he gave us a hole big enough to fly an AC-130U through." They shared an evil grin.

Hayes spoke first. "I say, Stan. I could stand with an early dinner... I believe I saw steak on the menu."

Von Krieger rubbed his hands together. "Capital idea, Ollie. The early bird gets the biggest cut of meat."

Together they whistled an old tune as they marched to the Mess Hall.

x

End Chapter 6

x

*Sakura-kun: I'm keeping a japanese 'flavor' in the fic, so if this or other htings come up that are not defined in chapter, pm me or my editor. Here's the reason fr this...

If attached to a first name, it then denotes _**some**_ level of familiarity, and/or 'friend' status for [b/c/d].

[**-kun**]: this one is a bit more subtle, its _literal_ translation is 'junior' (but _**not**_ used in the 'western' manner). When used by a person of 'superior' status/rank to a subordinate, it is sign of 'affection' (and/or 'favor' when the previous honorific given _was_ -san). [It _can_ be used with a male or female co-worker equally.]

When used in a 'work place' or school/academic setting, between professional 'peers', it denotes 'acceptance' _as an equal_ with the _implication_ of 'competence'.

It is a way of saying... 'You are one of us' [and thus a denoting of 'status' within a group].

When used _outside_ of a professional setting, it implies [earned] 'close' friendship (and/or familiarity). The 'unearned' use of this hon. is considered 'disrespectful' (at best), _or __**an insult**_ (at worst).

x

**Editor's reply**:

**Chargone** - in part, what you say is true. However, there will be words that deserve, or require special emphasis... writing styles _do_ update after 6 years. Sorry if that displeases you.

**belnonm** - I gave the author a solution to that, and a damn good one at that. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

**Left Head** - You should have replied to my PM; my thanks go to **bub23453** instead.

**Deathmvp** - if you look at how the inserts interlace with the on-going story, you might appreciate more how they link together.

**Starkaster** - 'filler'...? Oh, I _see_... all OCs should magically appearance where they're needed... with _**zero**_ back-story. Yeah, that'll _really_ improve the story.

Editor's Note: Chapter 5 was given some subtle, but very important tweaks. There were some important details that weren't given enough attention. If you have some free time, I think it might be worth a re-read.

**BTW** - the troll that commented on chapter 5 has been reported to the Site for 'abuse'. He is yet another example of the internet allowing people who are 1 foot tall... look 10 feet tall. Trust me... no one is impressed with you.


	7. A little showing off

NinjaGate

A little showing off

By: MikeJV37

x

===April 2, 6:13 PM, Earth SGC, Naruto's Room===

While not the foremost thought on his mind, the earlier discussion he, and Hinata, had with General Hammond about what they found in the Temple had been too much like being grilled by Tsunade for his liking. But Hinata had saved his ass by firmly stating that the items had been given solely to them, for their use only. That done, she politely asked Hammond that they be given a chance to activate them in private so they could get a handle on the basics; and, with that done, they could give him a better report on what the artifacts could do, rather than guessing, or putting someone else at risk and maybe getting hurt, or worse.

Naruto saw the familiar 'I don't like it' face on General Hammond, _but_ like with Iruka, the old man and Tsunade... there was also the 'but I'll give you a chance' face afterwards. Besides, he _was_ the only way General Hammond had to communicate with Baa-chan and Konoha, so he did have a little leverage to work with.

This also meant that tomorrow, after their demonstration, he'd be sending all this information to Tsunade. He could almost feel Tsunade's glare piercing him. He really did love her as a grandmother, mother and big sister all rolled into one, but she scared the hell out of him sometimes.

"**And **_**never**_** call her old.**" Kyuubi added and smiled, unheard by Naruto. She knew that after everything they'd been through, even Naruto wouldn't cross that line with Tsunade... again. She also knew, from a recent look through his mind, that a small and well-buried part of him, namely the perverted part he constantly fought against, found her attractive, especially her huge breasts. The perverted aspect of Naruto wouldn't mind getting much closer, despite her age, but he'd _never_ act on it. Kyuubi, on the other hand, would love a romp with Tsunade, or Hinata, or all 3 of them; that made her smile a moment.

Kyuubi shook those thoughts from her mind; _many_ things had to happen before she could even think of suggesting that idea to her host... and the biggest obstacle, Hinata. She sighed sadly. "**No, my needs are meaningless; I don't deserve any pleasure until Naruto forgives me for my sins.**" Kyuubi remarked to herself, then re-opened her side of the link.

"I can't put this off any more... she wasn't a ghost..." Naruto felt a cold chill of fear run through him, _that_ was his only real fear. "She was friendly, not trying to eat my soul... she gave me the scroll to make me stronger." Naruto added, talking himself into opening the scroll... and that it wouldn't explode and kill him.

Naruto was standing between his bed and the front wall (with the entry door). On the back wall across from the bed by him, and the left wall, was a 42 inch plasma TV, which he LOVED, especially with the game system they'd hooked up to it, and his growing collection of games. The other personal touches in the room were some posters on the walls; the poster from Sam was a picture taken from the Moon, looking at Earth... he really liked that one. Jack's poster was a picture of a flying machine he called an... F-16. Jack promised him that he'd see a real one someday. Daniel's poster was a picture of a huge stone tomb called a pyramid. He didn't think it was all that interesting until Hinata had told him it was way older than the stuff they had read about in their Academy textbooks. Sometimes he'd look at it and wonder why there wasn't anything that old... or that big on his world.

On the right side was a dresser full of boring clothes, and underwear; he had to laugh at that thought, he actually wished Ino was here to... take him shopping. He could see all his friends laughing at him for wanting to go clothes shopping. But, he did have Hinata to help him, and was honestly looking forward to it, but it made him nervous at the same time.

He looked at the scroll laying on his bed, then for some reason turned and looked at his night table. Sitting on it was one of the few personal items he had sent to him, an old picture of Team 7. He sighed, steeled himself, and moved towards the scroll.

===Hinata's Room===

Hinata was sitting on the right side of her bed, her room arranged similarly to Naruto's. In her hands, cradled in her lap, was the gem. She smiled to herself; she'd peeked, and briefly watched Naruto as he paced around his room, just like she knew he'd be doing. Like Naruto she had a picture on her night table, but her's was a picture of her late mother, Hannah. Unlike Naruto, she had 4 full outfits sent from home hanging in her closet, plus the clothes she'd been wearing. In addition to that were the 3 back-up shinobi outfits she'd kept sealed in a extra storage scroll. It was a habit she'd started years ago after her chest had 'exploded'... for the first time.

She lifted the gem to chest level, let out a breath and started to slowly push her chakra into it. She smiled as it started to glow...

===Monitor Room, Security HQ===

The younger SP watched as Hinata lifted the huge jewel up... then her room monitor went out. He turned to the senior NCO. "Sarge, Hinata's room monitor went out..." He noticed the arched eyebrow on the older NCO's face. "Yeah, I know, log it and flag it... I'm writing." 'Junior' responded, sighed and picked up his pencil.

"You may see daylight yet." 'Senior' replied with a grin.

===Hinata's Room===

Hinata couldn't believe her eyes. She'd expected a voice, an illusion, anything... but never in her wildest dreams did she ever consider anything like this. "You're a... a..."

"A **yosei.**"(1) Her tiny voice had a musical tone to it. Hinata's new guest was floating about 4 feet off the floor, her translucent butterfly-like wings beating rapidly. She had flowing dark-blue hair hanging to her waist; her slender, but very large breasted 4 inch high body almost sparkling; her pale blue, mid-thigh kimono-like dress shimmered faintly.

If she didn't know better, Hinata would have sworn the tiny flying... girl, looked just like her mother.

"**You may call me Suimei-san, Hinata-sama. As the Guide of the Gem of Life, I am known in the old tongue as the '****Yosei no Seimei'(2)****, I'm sworn to serve you, as it's new wielder and guardian... Hinata no Seimei no Hoseki no Koken."(3)**

Hinata sat still as a stone, her breath frozen in her throat. An inexplicable combination of joy, apprehension, and fear raged like a bonfire within her. The fairy gave her a deep, formal bow... while hovering about like a hummingbird, a couple of feet from her face. Suimei rose from her bow and continued.

**"The Mistress of the ****Seimei no Jiin**** is the one who spoke to you and Naruto-san in her sanctuary, the Temple of Life. For now you may speak to me as needed, my Mistress will show herself to you when you are ready. This I promise, and you **_**will**_** know it when that moment comes to pass." **

Hinata nodded faintly in acknowledgement, numbed by the significance of Suimei's declaration.

**"For now, hold out your hand so I may stand upon it... I must attune myself to your life force."** The fairy did a slow hover around the gem.** "The woman named Janet will assist you in finding the abilities that have been unlocked within you, and how they intertwine with the Gem of Life. Do not force your connection with the gem to obtain those abilities... they will come to you with the flow of time, **_**and**_** as you further bond with the Gem of Life."** Suimei explained, and moved closer to Hinata.

**"Furthermore, the woman named Sam can help you in discovering other aspects of your intellect, and introduce you to sources of knowledge that were previously unknown, and unavailable to you."**

**"And, when the man named Daniel asks about the voice you heard, tell him her name is Akarumu, and her world is called Tougen.**" Suimei added in an almost musical voice.

A peaceful smile grew on Hinata's face as she nodded as she put her right hand below Suimei, and gently gripped the glowing gem held in her left.

===Naruto's Room===

He'd unrolled about 2 feet of the scroll and only found some simple instructions, at the beginning, on how to unseal what was within it. Carefully following the directions, two items appeared out the small puff of smoke; a brush 10" long, the handle made of a very smooth, highly polished, deep black stone he'd never seen before. It was unexpectedly light, but the handle felt harder than any stone he's ever touched. The engraved metal band holding the shiny black bristles in place looked like gold, but it seemed every bit as hard as the handle.

The other item was a rectangular stone tray, about 4" wide, 8" long, and over an inch thick; it was black like the brush's handle, but without the same high polish. He also noted that the lip of the tray was covered with tiny carvings, but the details were too fine for him to make out. Naruto puzzled over it's purpose; it was unevenly hollowed out, with half of it sloping upwards, away from the deeper end. He searched his memory but couldn't recall ever seeing anything like it before.

After he'd played with the brush for a minute or so, to get the feel of it, he looked back at the scroll and noticed that the initial instructions had been replaced by new, more extensive writings.

Setting the stone tray aside, he turned his attention back to the brush... that, he recognized. Naruto picked it up again and held it, just as he remembered Jiraiya doing as he wrote letters to Tsunade, and created seals.

Unrolling the scroll some more, he turned his attention to the new instructions. As he studied the scroll further, he realized that it was lessons on how to write characters in the style Jiraiya had used to make seals. Thrilled that it was going to teach him something that he'd seen his Sensei do with practiced ease, reality suddenly grabbed him by the neck. This was a skill he'd observed many times, but had never seriously attempted himself.

He pouted. "I have to practice writing that... cal, lig, riffy stuff..." Naruto muttered despondently, then suddenly perked up at a new thought. "This is just like that formal writing stuff Shizune said she does. I bet Hinata-chan is great at this stuff, she could help me!" Naruto exclaimed with a smile.

===April 2, 8:15 PM, outside Gen. Hammond's Office===

Major Von Krieger paused before the door, staring at the name plate; he silently considered his options. '_Okay Ric, this is it. You're either going to lie like a rug, or come clean. Either way, you're probably toast_.' He mentally shrugged and audibly sighed. '_Who knows, maybe he's got a sense of humor like Tom_.' Ric refocused on the name plate, and looked at the name again: Lt. General George S. Hammond, Commander, Stargate Command.

"Not a fucking chance." He muttered, and knocked. He heard the response, "enter", and stepped into the lion's den. The first thing he noticed was his new commander leaning back in his chair and holding a large coffee mug. The second thing he noticed upon entering was his friend Jack, sitting in a smaller chair, giving him a cheery wave. Both of them gave him a smile. He took that as a good sign; he just hoped they'd be wearing those same smiles when he left.

"Thank you for coming so promptly, Major." Hammond motioned to a second chair, next to Jack's. "Have a seat, please. Since it's after hours, so to speak, I'll keep the formalities to a minimum."

Ric gave his new boss a smile and a slight bow. "Thank you, sir. I suspect it's been a long day for all of us." He gave Jack a meaningful look. "Did you have fun today, Jack?"

O'Neill cocked his head and gave Ric his best innocent look. "Nope, just wrestling with paperwork."

Hammond took in the synergy between the two men, it was curious, to say the least. He decided to step in. "I'm curious, Major. Why did you say that?"

Ric gave both of them an appraising look, then re-focused his attention on Jack; he casually pointed downward. "Paperwork doesn't normally leave green clay on your boots." Jack's eyes widened, and quickly looked downward; he could have sworn that he'd cleaned them completely. "And an unusual shade of green at that." Ric added with a thoughtful frown, leaning closer to examine Jack's boots.

Jack snorted and shook his head; he looked at Hammond. "I told you he was good."

Hammond nodded, and took a sip from his mug. "So it would seem." He motioned to the chair again, and this time Von Krieger sat down. "Now then, I believe you mentioned that you had some information for me."

"Quite so, sir. While I was stationed in Moscow, I gained some insights, and rumors, into the Russian's Stargate Program, specifically their..." Ric paused in thought. "...view towards it."

Hammond leaned forward with obvious curiosity. He had gotten summaries from the CIA, but he was _always_ interested in secondary sources... and opinions. "Please go on, Major."

"To be blunt, they're scared spitless of it. They even have their own pet name for it... Chërt voróti', my best translation: 'The Gate of the Devil', or Devil's Gate, you decide which one fits the bill better."

Jack asked. "Don't you mean scared shitless, Ric?"

Ric frowned at his friend. "Come on, Jack... you know the Russians better than _that_. The Russians are many things, but they aren't cowards. You give them the right motivation, or reason, and they're insanely brave. It's not that you couldn't get them to move... that would be scared shitless. However, you could lead them, or get 'em drunk enough, or even shame them into going, but you could get them to go through."

Hammond's eyebrow twitched. '_That wasn't in the CIA report_.' He spoke up. "How common is this viewpoint?"

Ric pursed his lips. "Amongst the average Ivan's, _a lot_. Amongst the leadership, not so much... but then again, they're not the ones going through the Stargate." Ric made a sour face.

Hammond leaned back in his chair. '_It figures, I get 'demands' from them, weekly_.' "I see. Thank you for that bit of insight. So Major, how reliable is this source of yours?" He noticed a frown growing on Von Krieger's face, and the long silence that followed.

"Very reliable." Ric shifted in his chair and took a deep breath. "She begged me to refuse the order posting me here." He added to himself. '_There, I've done it_.'

Jack chuckled. "You dog..." Then it hit him. "Whoa, Wait. A. Minute. Did you just say that she knew you were coming here?" Jack vigorously pointed at the floor.

General Hammond leaned closer. "Yes, Colonel O'Neill, I believe he _did_." He gave Von Krieger his best ominous stare... and watched it bounce off. He added an angry frown. "Who is she?" The tone in Hammond's voice was not something you wanted directed at you.

Ric replied. "Captain Irina Pyotrovna Lebed."

General Hammond frowned in concentration. That name, that family name... had a familiar ring to it... Then he remembered. "By any chance..." His question was cut off by a wave of Von Krieger's hand.

"Yes." Ric audibly sighed. "She is the grandniece of Lt. General Vasiliy Isayovich Lebed. He being the Director of Division 8, the Technology Branch of the FSB."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise; he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Hammond, by pure reflex, shot out of his chair... dropping his half-full mug on the carpeted floor, his face a perfect model of disbelief. He placed his hands on the desk and leaned towards Von Krieger. He growled out, "Major, explain to me _why_ you still have your security clearance... and, how you've escaped dismissal for your actions?" Hammond's voice rose in volume as he spoke.

'_That went well_.' As calm as a block of stone, Ric replied, "The simple answer: the CIA Station Chief, once he became aware of the matter... okayed the relationship."

General Hammond sank back into his chair with a muted thud. The shock on his face was mirrored in his voice. "He _did?_" Hammond shook his head to clear it. "Why?"

Ric ventured a minuscule smile; he began ticking off his fingers. "Firstly, he regarded me as a minimum risk... Tom and I go back a way's. He knows me, and I know him... I've trusted the man with my life, several times, and he's returned that level of trust. Secondly, because of my relationship with Irinya, Tom was able to finger nearly 3 dozen FSB operatives... all sent to watch us. Thirdly, Irina and I, very early on, agreed _not_ to talk about certain details of our professional activities."

He paused and broadened his smile. "And, we found out that we had a few common interests, hobbies, and other such things." Ric tented his fingers together. "And, our agreement to not 'talk shop' aside, I've learned a number of interesting things by just simply paying attention to her." Ric's smile turned sly. "With the right circumstances, and the proper stimulation... she's remarkably..." he measurably paused, "...chatty."

Jack finally found his voice. "Is she..."

His question was cut short when Ric pulled a photo out of his breast pocket and held it front of his face... it was a picture of Irina in a white, blue and red Speedo one-piece racing suit, in a sexy pose, and wearing a coy smile. Jack's eyes widened. "Whoa..." Jack leaned forward for a closer look at the photograph. "She is smoking hot!" Jack snatched the photo from Ric's grasp.

General Hammond cleared his throat. "Colonel O'Neill..." Any further comment died as Jack rotated the photo towards him. '_Damn_.' He gave silent thanks that his late wife wasn't present; he didn't think she would have appreciated the look on his face.

General Hammond took a deep breath; he had to put a sense of order, and perspective on all this. '_Might as well see what this man knows, and what he doesn't_.' "Major Von Krieger, what do you know about this place?"

Ric snatched the photo from Jack's hands, much to his disappointment, and smoothly pocketed it. "Hmm... Well, you've gotten your hands on an alien gizmo; and, if the Russians are any indication, you've been using it, and sending people through it... but your folks have been coming back alive, unlike a bunch of the Russians doing likewise."

Both Hammond and O'Neill nodded at that comment. "_And_... if I had to guess, I'd say you've been... bringing stuff back." Ric spread his hands. "Because I sure as hell would." He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then back at General Hammond. "And, if I know the Russians like I do, I'd say that they've been sniffling around your asses like hounds at a dog show." He crossed his arms across his chest. "So, did I miss much?"

Jack looked at his commander. "See what I mean."

Hammond leaned back in his chair and acknowledged Jack's comment. He openly stared at Von Krieger; he noted that the Major was returning the stare, politely, but his eyes didn't waver. '_Note to self: do not play poker with this man_.' His anger over Von Krieger's past actions was slowly fading; and, he wasn't all that surprised that stories had gotten out, they _always_ do... despite all the security.

No, the man before him was everything he had hoped for: intelligent, perceptive, bold, and obviously willing to take a risk, and... if that photo was any indication, unafraid to face an unknown and make it his own. '_He'll do_.' Hammond nodded to himself. '_Now the next question: will he do it_?' His eyes flicked to a locked drawer that held a mission proposal.

"You're more right than not, Major. However, you're lacking one key detail."

Ric nodded agreeably. "Given that I'm relying on second-hand information, at best..." He added a smile. "...that's understandable."

General Hammond returned the smile. "Indeed. Sadly, the Russians have every right to sniff around us." Hammond watched the Major's eyes narrow, but his expression remained unchanged. '_Yup. Definitely, no poker with him_.'

"Do tell." Ric rested his chin on a fist and considered Hammond's statement. After a long moment of thought, he met his boss' eyes. "It's not our gizmo, is it?" He nodded to himself. "It's _theirs_."

"Yes Major, it's their's. And _that_, is turning into a problem." Hammond reached over to his inter-comm and flipped a certain switch, again. "Now, off the record, talk to me about this woman of yours. And after you're done with that, you tell me what you're going to do if she's sent against us, and what you're going to do about it."

===9:35 PM, SGC Personal Quarters Block===

They walked from General Hammond's office in silence. Jack glanced at his friend's face again; Ric's stern expression hadn't changed, not once. As they approached Hayes' door, he put his hand on Ric's shoulder. Von Krieger looked over at Jack, saw the look on Jack's face and smiled.

"I'm okay." He knocked on the door. "I can do it."

As The door swung open, Jeri motioned them in. "Good evening, gents. Welcome to the party." After they entered, Hayes shut the door and grinned. "Y'all came just in time." He waved about the room. "Grab a spot and set a spell." At that, he went off to the adjoining bathroom, grabbing something out of the sink and wrapped it in a hand towel.

Jack pointed at the towel, and what was inside it. "Is that the real deal?"

Putting the meeting with Hammond behind him, Ric chucked. "None other." He rubbed his hands together. "That is..."

Jeri took over, knowing the spiel by heart. "Sergeant Shine's Number One, top-shelf..."

"Grade A Water of Life." Ric finished the introduction.

Jeri walked over and handed Jack, freed from it's towel, an open, 1-quart Mason Jar, nearly full to the top with a warm, clear liquid. "Tain't as good as fresh from the still, but... bottoms up, Jack."

Jack took a generous sip... before he realized it, the liquid was sitting in his stomach and a warm glow was racing throughout his body. He took a second sip and passed the jar to Ric. He let out a loud exhale. "Oh lord, _that..._ is some seriously good shit."

Ric took a swallow and pounded his knee with his fist. "Whoa. I'd forgotten how good this is." He took a second drink from the jar, letting out a slow breath through his nose. "Bless you, Jeri. This is precisely what I needed, especially after that visit to the Old Man's office."

Jeri shelved his smile and looked down at his friend sitting on his bed. "So, is he all square with y'all court'n and spark'n... her?" His was tone lighter than the look on his face.

"I suppose." Ric took another sip from the jar. "All I need now is a plan." He took a second, bigger sip. "A plan to steal her away from Mother Russia."

Jeri put the smile back on and laughed. "Comin' from the man who snuck off with a prototype tank of theirs..." He reached down, politely snatched the jar away, and took a swig. "You can do it. Especially if she wants to be made off with."

Jack saw the look on Ric's face and grinned. "Hey Jeri, did I ever tell you about the first time I laid eyes..." He hooked his thumb at Ric. "...on that rascal?"

Ric looked at the floor and groaned. "Dammit Jack, that wasn't my fault."

Jeri took another swig. "Nope, can't say that ya did." He noticed Jack eyeing the jar and handed it to him.

Jack took a big, noisy sip. "It was the spring of '89, the place was northern Iraq, and it involved four Kurdish hotties..."

Ric grumbled, "It was _two_..."

Jack snapped his fingers and took another sip. "Oh yeah, that's right, two Kurdish hotties, going toe-to-toe over him." Jack wagged his finger at Ric. "That man there was a _very _naughty Butter Bar."(4)

Ric groaned again. "It _wasn't_ my fault."

Jeri laughed. "Do tell." Jeri sat on the floor next to Jack. "I wanna hear all about this..."

===April 3, 7:00 AM, Earth SGC, Gymnasium No. 1===

As soon as their SP escort had departed and the doors shut behind him, Naruto turned to Hinata with a smile that was, in part, due to the fact that he was wearing his trade-mark orange jumpsuit again. "So what should we do?"

Hinata looked about, this was the biggest room she'd seen since they had arrived at SGC; it was 60' wide, by 90' long. The shining wooden floor, as Jack had explained earlier, was marked with various white lines and circles, for a game called basketball.(5) Standing at the center of the room, they noted the various details. Scattered at irregular intervals were large blue-colored plastic lidded bins, and 3 wire baskets filled with assorted balls... Hinata smiled as she noted the several small baskets filled with bright blue racquet balls.

Naruto ran over to a nearby large basket and grabbed one the of large, black-striped, orange-colored balls and examined it. He looked it over with a grin and then experimentally dropped it. It bounced with a particular 'pinging' sound... Hinata smiled, then sighed as he began avidly bouncing the ball, grinning wildly. She also noted, with a frown, that the sounds Naruto was making, playing with the orange ball, echoed loudly throughout the room. While problematic, the acoustics of the room didn't make stealth impossible... as long as they focused on their movements.

Letting Naruto burn off some excess energy with his new-found toy, Hinata continued her scan of the room's details and stopped facing the long wall opposite the doors they entered through. She recognized the doorways to locker rooms at the long back wall... women near the left end, men the right. At the right end, all lined up, were the 6 round archery targets on stands she'd requested. And just to her right were 2 card tables she had asked for, one for her and Naruto to display their various shinobi tools and weapons, once they got down to business.

She looked up at the ceiling, it was 40 feet high, with a network of steel girders about 6 feet from the rocky ceiling, more than enough room for either of them to move about, or stand on, and the regularly-spaced powerful lights... Hinata smiled to herself as she noted the shadows they produced, especially the short hallways that lead to the exits; they were perfect for what she had planned.

With her inspection of the room done, she turned her attention back to Naruto... attempting to toss the basketball into the nearby hooped net suspended above the floor. She watched as his fifth try dropped through the hoop, and smiled as he did a small victory dance. Hinata clapped her hands together. "Okay Naruto, I think I know how to use this room for our demonstration, do you have any ideas?"

Naruto paused and bounced the ball with one hand; he slowly turned in a circle looking about, high and low. "Yeah." He pointed up. "Those beams will be perfect for one of the things I want to do." He grabbed the ball he was bouncing and started walking towards her. "What about you?"

Hinata smiled and glanced about the room. "I have some ideas. Do you know how to water walk?"

"Sure do, Jiraiya taught me when he was training me for the finals." Naruto replied proudly, ignoring the where and how he'd learned. As he reached her location, he tossed the ball at the basket he'd taken it from and grinned as it bounced once and landed in it. As he looked about the room a second time, he got a thoughtful look on his face. "Hinata... that first night in the valley, did you see anyone?"

"No... Why?" Hinata replied, curious.

"About midnight I had to get up... I heard something, so I followed the sound to this waterfall and..." Naruto said.

Hinata listened... the instant he mentioned the waterfall, it took every ounce of self-control she had to hold off a raging blush, and desire to faint. It only got worse as he described seeing a girl dancing atop the water, apparently naked, with drops and streams of water circling and dancing all about her. As he talked about the girl, and what she was doing... and it being the most beautiful thing he'd EVER seen in his whole life... she nearly lost it. After he stopped his detailed monologue, she used every ounce of will-power she possessed to push her emotions down. "Did... you see her face?" Hinata asked carefully.

Naruto sighed sadly. "No, because of the full moon and everything, all I saw was her shape, and she was inside a big shadow. I only saw her for maybe a minute, then I accidentally stepped on a twig and broke it. I looked down for a moment, and when I looked back she was gone. Do you remember who was on guard duty?"

Hinata thought a moment, her mind racing. "I was, but I never saw anyone near the campsite. I remember you leaving and coming back, but I knew it was you by your chakra signature, since everyone's is unique."

Naruto sighed sadly. "Oh well, thanks anyway... um, don't tell anyone about that, okay? If anyone found out I saw some moonlight dancer that got away from me so easy... they'd think I was crazy." He frowned and looked at the floor.

Hinata nodded and shoved the memory of that night into the back of her head. "I promise. For now, let's focus on the demonstration... I normally wouldn't ask, but... what jutsu's do you know?"

===April 3, 7:10 AM, Shinobi Residential District, Konoha===

As she shuffled to the door, Shiho heard a second set of knocks. She muttered in response, "I'm coming... please don't knock my door down." The cup of breakfast tea in her hand sloshed, making her wince, as she opened the door... revealing an ANBU wearing a owl mask.

The ANBU gave her the slightest of bows. "Genin Shiho Hisajima?" The mask barely concealed the feminine pitch to her voice.

Shiho nodded numbly and took a sip of her tea. "Hai."

* Flashback *

She had barely gotten home from an all-nighter; a new code from Kumo had come in late in the day, and had been shoved to the top of the priority list. As usual, the department head, Jukodo-san, had stared at the new code for all of 30 seconds, scratched his head, tossed it at her... and promised her comp-time if she could crack it by midnight... then promptly headed out the door, wishing her luck.

Grumbling under her breath (he was a Jonin after all...), she went back to the cramped office she shared with her friend and co-worker, Yurika Ryusaki, and set to work. Midnight came and went, and a few hours away from dawn, she cracked the code. After securing her efforts in the department's vault, Shiho headed home... stopping at the one place open at that hour, Matsumachi's Bakery. The products of his shop very much in demand, and proper baking meant rising early... and working _very_ hard. Her favorite fruit buns in hand, she finally made her way home... and peace, or so she thought.

* End Flashback *

Owl reached under her armored chest, produced a note and put it in Shiho's non-outstretched hand. "The Hokage requires your presence at 10:00 AM, her office... sharp." Owl's tone implied the request was not optional.

Shiho whimpered. "I wanna go to sleep."

Owl shook her head... "You can sleep when you're dead." ... and sprang away to the rooftops.

Shiho shut her door and slowly headed for the kitchen. She muttered to herself, "I wonder if soldier pills and fruit buns mix?"

===April 3, 7:15 AM, Earth SGC, Main Mess Hall===

Sam glanced at her watch. "Where is he? Dammit, he called me at 4 in the morning." She picked up her toast and tore off a large bite.

Daniel added. "He called me at 5, and he sounded... more cheerful than usual." He stared at his tray and pushed his scrambled eggs around.

Sam snorted. "He sounded drunk." She picked up a strip of bacon and brandished it like an angry nun waving a ruler.

"Perhaps you are mistaken Major Carter, I recall alcohol being forbidden inside SGC." Teal'c added. "Besides, he called me at 6." He spooned some sugar onto his oatmeal.

All three heads turned at the sound of Jack's distinctive laugh. They watched as he walked into the Mess Hall with two strangers. Sam's eyes narrowed as she recalled some of the chatter of the women hanging around the common area in the women's section of the personal quarters block. They'd been carrying on like school girls, commenting on the 'fresh meat' that had been seen in the Admin offices, apparently processing in.

She immediately noted that both the men with Jack had Green Berets stuck into their shoulder loops, and that they were talking to Jack with obvious familiarity. She also noted various heads, most of them female, tracking the trio as they headed to the end of the waiting line for breakfast. She snorted at the behavior of her peers, took another angry bite of her toast and ordered her 'inner' Sam to shut up... and glanced at the newcomers again.

Teal'c spoke up first. "It would appear that Colonel O'Neill has encountered some past acquaintances of his." After giving them a long, appraising look, he turned his attention back to his oatmeal.

Daniel assessed the trio, concentrating on the strangers. "Hmm... perhaps this is the end result of Jack's private meetings with Hammond. They're not wearing SGC uniforms... in fact, I don't think I've ever seen a uniform quite like that before." He put a sausage link in the corner of his mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully.

Sam gave the strangers a long glance. "It's very old school. I remember seeing some old photos of my Dad wearing something like that... he was in Thailand at the time, back during the Vietnam War." She noted the multiple embroidered award and skill badges crowding the spaces over both their pockets. She noted, '_Damn, they've been busy little beavers_.'

Her eyebrows went up as she noted that both of them wore CAB's(6) and CIB's(7)... the younger man, a Major, with 2 added stars on his CIB, a 75th Ranger ribbon on his right arm, and a Special Forces patch on left arm. The older man, a Master Sergeant, had 3 stars on his CIB, an 82nd Airborne division patch on his right arm, and a SF patch on his left. Sam chewed on a piece of bacon. '_What the hell are they doing here?_' She wondered where Jack first met them.

Teal'c looked up from his food again, and examined the pair chatting with Jack. "Both of them are obviously warriors, the older is the subordinate, the younger is... different." He went back to finishing his oatmeal. He added, not looking up from his tray. "Colonel O'Neill will bring them here, and then we will learn more about them."

Teal'c's typical statement of fact shut down any further comment. Sam returned to quietly tracking Jack and his new-found friends movement. After they got their trays, Jack headed straight for their table, the two strangers in tow. At that point, Sam focused on her nearly empty tray and waited...

"Morning everybody!" Jack cheerfully called out. "Hey, guess what happened."

Sam answered first. "You discovered the benefits of soap?" Daniel 'snorked' into his coffee cup. The two men standing next to Jack snickered.

The younger of the two, with short silver hair, smoky gray eyes, and the tallest of the group (but not by much), lightly punched Jack in the arm. "I _told_ you it was a bad idea." He opined.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Sam. " Jack pointed at the two strangers. "Say hello to your new teammates." He happily announced out of the blue.

Daniel spit a mouthful of coffee across the table and started coughing. Teal'c simply nodded and stared at the newcomers. Sam went wide-eyed and dropped her fork, it clattered loudly in her tray.

Jack continued his introduction. "This gentleman here..." He pointed to younger man. "Is Major Richard Von Krieger, formerly of the 1st Special Forces Group..." Jack affected a low and sinister voice. "And other dark, unknown, and classified places."

Ric smiled disarmingly and gave the group a slight bow. "Good morning everyone, pleased to meet you all." He leaned over and gave Daniel a single, firm slap on the back that halted his coughing fit. Daniel nodded in thanks and wiped his mouth with a couple of napkins.

Jack then pointed to the oldest of the pair. "And this worthy gentleman is Master Sergeant Jeremiah Hayes, also from the 1st, the Major's former Senior Team NCO, _and _a master of all things that go bang and kaboom."

Jeri gave everyone a good ol' boy grin and a nod. "Morning y'all."

After a round of replies, Ric, Jeri, and Jack sat down.

Sam went first, again. "Well, well... this is quite a surprise." Her smile did not reach her eyes. She added with a growl, "For _all_ of us." The carefully neutral look she saw on Jack's face set off alarm bells. '_Hinata and Naruto don't know... Dammit Jack, what the hell are you thinking._'

Jeri leaned towards Jack. "Been nice knowing you sir." Jack shrugged in response. Jeri gave Sam his best smile. "Y'all shouldn't be so hard on him, ma'am. It was a surprise for us too."

Daniel spoke up, his throat finally clear. "How so, Sergeant?" Jeri flicked a glance to Ric, who took up the reins.

Ric answered in Jeri's stead. "Our original orders had posted us here as instructors, Dr Jackson. But... somewhere along our merry way to Stargate Command, those orders were changed. I discovered the modification while doing the paperwork dance over at admin; we've been given permanent party status... without volunteering, or prior notification."

Daniel raised an eyebrow and looked at Sam. "Is that normal?"

Sam shook her head slowly. "No, never." She wondered, '_Who the hell did they piss off?_'

Teal'c broke his silence. "Perhaps someone thought highly of our two new members."

The derisive laughter that followed his comment confused him... greatly.

Ric and Jeri turned to the large, dark skinned man, both did a subtle double take at the tray on front of him. In the front center, was the remains of a quart bowl of oatmeal, to the left of it was a plate with a dozen sausage links, then moving around the bowl clockwise was a plate with what looked like almost a pound of bacon, then a small plate with an 8-slice, tower of buttered toast, 7 bananas and 3 apples. Standing on the table next to the tray from him was a large glass of orange juice.

Both men thought. '_DAMN!_'

===April 3, 7:30 AM, Nara Clan Main House, Konoha===

Yoshino smiled as she recognized the ANBU that landed by the kitchen window. "Ohayou, Owl... what brings you here so early?"

"Ohayou, Yoshino-dono. I don't suppose I'd be expecting too much if Shikaku-dono was close at hand?" Owl replied with a bow.

Yoshino answered with a laugh. "At this hour? Expecting the Daimyo's headdress on a golden dish might be easier." She wiped her hands on her apron and leaned out the window. "So what's the crisis this morning?"

Owl chuckled under her mask. "No, nothing like that... in fact, it's been rather quiet so far." Owl reached out and tapped the windowsill to forestall any ill-luck. "Nope, today it's messenger duty..." She presented a note to the Nara Clan matron. "...just one more delivery and I get to go back to patrolling again." Owl pointed at the paper in Yoshino's hand. "Hokage's office, both Shikaku and Shikamaru, 10:00 AM sharp. Even though she's in an unusually good mood, Tsunade-sama was pretty firm on _that_ point. I figured you'd want an early heads-up... all things considered."

Yoshino nodded and smiled. "I appreciate that." She eyed the note thoughtfully. '_Hmm... I wonder why she wants both of them present?_' "Don't worry; I'll make sure that they get there in time." She looked upward and grinned. "It'll do them good to get kicked out of bed earlier than usual; besides, it'll give me more time to get things done around here without them being under foot."

Yoshino leaned closer and dropped her voice. "So then... who's the last stop?"

Owl glanced about and matched her lean. She whispered. "Sakura Haruno-san."

Yoshino's eyebrow went up. "Really?" Her face became thoughtful. "Has she gotten any better? The last time I saw her, she looked like she was going to throw herself off the Hokage Monument." Yoshino shook her head. "Even if I don't care much for her mother, it was still painful to watch Sakura-san wandering about like that... ever since _he_ disappeared."

Owl nodded in reply and thanked Kami that she was wearing a mask. "You have no idea. But yes, something happened yesterday... she's completely changed. I saw her dragging around Inoichi's daughter... and using her for a pack horse. I think she spent enough to keep Tsunade-sama in sake for 3 moons."

Yoshino laughed in a tone few thought her capable of... merry and light. "Would that I could spend that much money in one go." She shook her head in disbelief. "That must have been quite a sight to see. Usually it's the other way around."

"Oh it was." Owl straightened up and took a step back. "Anyway... enough girl-talk for the moment, I gotta go." Owl stopped in mid-turn. "Are you coming for the usual get-together, tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Hot Springs, 7:00 PM... And lots of girl talk."

Owl nodded, and leapt away... bounding through the trees.

Upstairs... laying by an open bedroom window, and basking in the morning sunlight, Shikaku smiled. '_Troublesome women... but an interesting bit of news_.' He glanced over at the clock and grinned. '_I wonder if I should give Yoshino a hard time, or... give her a hard time?_' He looked down at his morning wood and smiled. '_Hmm... I know how much it annoys Shikamaru when I give her a proper lay_.'

Shikaku closed his eyes and grinned. _'Perhaps it's time for the successor to the Nara Clan to show proper interest in women... Yo-chan's bitchiness aside_.' He prepared a special jutsu he had created as he heard his wife's feet in the hallway, getting closer. '_Time for a little pay-back for that endless rant I had to put up with last night_.' He heard the door open. '_This should fun... even if it'll be troublesome for me later_.'

===7:58 AM, Gymnasium No. 1===

Naruto looked over the set-up again, and smiled. His excitement at the opportunity to finally give his friends in SG1 a full-bore display of the shinobi skills he and Hinata were capable of had him literarily bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Hinata giggled at his eagerness and checked the spot amongst the girders that Naruto had selected for his display of skill. Part of her was a bit nervous because she hadn't fully informed Sam of what they had in mind. Yes, Sam had said 'surprise us', but even so...

She fingered the smoke bomb, checking it for any flaws... they were known to explode from time to time. Satisfied that it was in good condition, she put it back in her equipment pouch. She looked back at Naruto. "Are you ready?" His grin was all the reply she needed.

Naruto cocked his head towards the gym's far entry doors... his sensitive ears picked up the sound of Jack's voice. '_He sounds really happy_.' He liked Jack, and was looking forward to the surprise on his face when he unleashed a Rasengan on the 8 foot-high log that General Hammond had brought in, just for this day. It wasn't as big as the trees surrounding Konoha, but it would do. Then he heard the 'click-clack' of the door opening.

===8:00 AM, Gym No. 1===

SG1 entered the gym with Gen Hammond, Dr Fraiser, and their 2 new members, Jack still wearing the same cheesy grin since breakfast... much to Sam's annoyance.

When they were all inside, Ric (and Jeri) nearly froze in shock at the sight of... two kids? Ric turned his attention to his old friend... something was up, there had to be a good reason for the presence of 2 civilians. His instincts shouted that _they_ were the reason he... and Jeri had been brought here.

His eyes rapidly took in the room's details: the boy and the girl, the 6... archery targets, and the 2 card tables with something on them. Ric flicked a glance at Jeri; he seemed to be focusing in on the same details. To make things worse, he was starting to get an almost pulsating ache in his gut... and it wasn't improving his mood... at all. Ric's fingers began to twitch as his eyes locked on the boy in orange. He took a deep breath and focused until all those sensations subsided.

Ric whispered calmly, but coolly. "Jack, I've gotten over being hijacked to serve in a top secret project, but this is entirely different matter." He noted Jeri's concurring nod. "I trust we're here for more than just giggles, babysitting them..." Ric nodded in the direction Naruto and Hinata. "...and turning our settled and _formerly _happy lives upside down."

"Would I do that to you?" Jack replied, then saw the look in her friend's eyes and sighed softly. "Forget I said that. Trust me."

"I _do_ trust you... the Tiger's Moon Hotel notwithstanding." Ric replied quietly with a subtle frown. Jack's eyebrows went up and he grimaced slightly.

Jack coughed and stepped away from the group. "I think we should get the introductions over with and get on to the demonstrations." Jack announced, then turned and headed for Naruto, not surprised he was back in orange, and Hinata who was currently wearing her new sunglasses and camo pants, but otherwise was back in her old ninja sandals and oversized beige coat with the Hyuuga Clan symbols.

===8:00 AM, Gym No. 1, Naruto's POV===

His grin grew as he watched General Hammond, Dr Fraiser, Jack and the rest of SG1 filed in; his smile froze as he saw 2 more people come in, strangers he had never... then he remembered.

They were the pair of newcomers one of his clone scouts spotted the other day. They were the Shadow Clones that he had ordered to wander around SGC as a test of his ninja skills, and to keep himself sharp. He truly didn't mean any harm to his new home, but he figured knowing as much as possible about SGC would come in handy if something bad ever happened. Some of what he had found seemed suspicious... at least from Naruto's point of view; he'd have to talk to Jack privately about it later.

Naruto remembered the two men now... they were some of the few people his clones had encountered that had sensed they were being watched. He shuddered as he recalled the clone's memory of being doused with that full cup of warm, smelly stuff called coffee that nearly everyone drank in SG1.

Naruto watched as his friends and the new people gathered together. He noted with interest that Jack talked to the 2 men the same way he would have if they had been Kiba or Shino. Jack turned away from the group, and walked toward him wearing a bigger than usual smile. Halfway to him and Hinata, Jack waved for them to come forward. As they moved towards Jack, Hinata discretely made the hand-sign for strangers?; Naruto signed in response, Jack, friends?, no worry.

Jack grinned. "Morning. Are you ready?" He watched both of them smile and nod. "Good. Everybody's looking forward to it."

Hinata leaned to look past Jack, glancing at the strangers. "Um... Jack?"

Jack waved his hand. "No need to worry, I have a surprise for you." He turned around and motioned to the 2 men; they separated from the group and stared walking towards them.

Naruto took a side-step to the left of Jack to watch them approach; he watched with obvious curiosity, noting that after a couple of steps, the pair was walking not quite shoulder to shoulder... but close to it. They also matched each other's step and stride without looking at each other's feet, their arms swinging in time; it was sorta like watching the SP's walk... but not quite the same. '_Wow, that's different_.' Smiling in spite of the nervous flutter in his stomach.

Hinata was likewise watching the 2 men approach, both wearing the same outfits, and green-colored berets (Sam had taught her the word), but she was noting other things. She sensed no hostility, or nervousness in either of them. The younger man was eyeing her and Naruto with open curiosity; the older man's gaze felt more like Kurenai-sensei's stare when she was watching her and her team mates spar, or executing team drills. When they got within a few feet of Jack, they came to a dead stop at the same time, their eyes still firmly fixed on her and Naruto.

Jack clapped his hands together and rubbed them, he looked at Naruto and Hinata. "Okay guys, say hello to the newest members of SG1. Naruto, Hinata, this is Ric and Jeri." He pointed to each one. "Ric, Jeri, this is Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga." Jack pointed again.

Hinata smothered a giggle as the man named Ric gave Jack a look that reminded her of Naruto when he was in the mood for a prank; he looked back at them and smiled. She let out a breath as she saw true warmth in his eyes.

"Good morning, I'm Major Richard Von Krieger. I'm honored to make your acquaintance." He paused to give their hitai-ite's... and the clan mon(8) on her jacket a long look, and bowed (to Hinata's surprise) precisely, and far less deeply as Daniel had the first time they had met. Naruto and Hinata returned the bow. On a hunch, Ric switched languages. "_I trust we'll be able to get along, Naruto-san, Hinata-san?_"

Naruto blinked and turned to Hinata. "He talks that fancy talk, just like you, Hinata..." He glanced back at the other group. "... and Daniel."

Hinata sighed. "It's the old language, Naruto... the tongue of the Ancient Ones." She looked at Ric. "And you speak it quite well, Ric-san. Did you learn it in a school... like Daniel-san?"

Ric switched back to Japanese. "_No, not quite. It is the language of my father, although I did take some classes to re-sharpen my skill with it. I used to speak quite well, when I was younger_." A frown flashed over Ric's face. "_There was a time though, when I preferred not to use it_."

Daniel had his head turned, to listen better. "Wow, he speaks Japanese quite well. Better than me, in fact."

Sam shrugged. "Well, he is special forces... if I had to guess, he probably speaks a couple of other languages as well. They all take advanced language training." Sam listened for a moment. "I've been to Japan a couple of times... as far as I can tell, he speaks it like a native."

Teal'c nodded. "That is good, perhaps he will be able to help Naruto and Hinata feel more at home here."

Noting the semi-bored look on Naruto's face, Ric switched back to English. "Forgive my lack of manners. I really shouldn't speak in a tongue that isn't understood by everyone present." He bowed again, and looked at his companion and smiled. "Your turn, Jeri."

Ric managed, barely, to keep a straight face when the girl made her comment about the Japanese language. '_Something is not adding up here... she understands Japanese, but the boy doesn't? And what's up with those odd scars on the boy's face?_' Ric let out a quiet sigh. '_And why do I think Jack is sand-bagging my ass, again..._'

The older man smiled back and nodded. "Morning y'all, I'm Master Sergeant Jeremiah Hayes. Pleased to meet 'ya." Naruto and Hinata couldn't help but return the smile he gave them, to Hinata, it reminded her of a summer morning. Unlike Von Krieger, he held out his hand. Both of them recognized the gesture and shook hands with him. To Naruto, his hand reminded him of Lee's Sensei, Guy... _without_ the crushing grip. For Hinata, it felt firm, and warm.

Naruto spoke up first. "So what do you guys do?" Hinata winced at Naruto's directness, and lapse in manners. Both men chuckled at Naruto's question.

Ric gave Naruto a smile very much like Iruka-sensei did... just before he gave one of his dreaded pop quizzes. That particular memory bubbling up sent a small shiver up his spine. "We're the people that get sent out when bad people need to disappear, or to make bad things go boom." The edge in his voice wasn't quite like Jack's when he was in his joker-mode. Both of them had an entirely different feel compared to his SG1 friends...

Jack quickly spoke up. "Alright, we can get to know each other better over lunch. Let's get things started." He motioned to everyone to follow him; Jack glanced at the card tables, and then looked at Naruto and Hinata. "Is all your stuff set up?" Naruto grinned and nodded in reply.

They walked over to the card tables where Naruto and Hinata's weapons, and gear lay; as they got closer the contents of the tables became obvious. They also joined the other guests who were looking at the various items neatly arranged in rows. Jack went to Naruto's table and turned to Ric and Jeri.

"So, what do you think?" His grin went from ear to ear.

Naruto and Hinata watched as they came closer, both of them saw the look on Ric's face, it was one of... recognition. They also noticed that the older man, Jeri, was dividing his attention between the table, the man named Ric, and them.

Ric looked over the array of weapons, some of them he recognized, and others looked only vaguely familiar, except for a few of the non-lethal objects. As he looked at the line of kunai's, and glanced at the shuriken, he recalled his regular visits to Obasama in Japan. The ones on the table looked the same... but different at the same time. He looked up at Naruto and pointed at a kunai. "May I?" Naruto nodded with a sly smile.

Naruto and most everybody else watched as Jack's friend Ric picked up the kunai. His amusement at a non-ninja playing with shinobi weapons began to fade as he watched Ric rest it in the palm of his hand, and rolled it back and forth... just like Tenten would. Then he watched as Jack's friend rested it on his index finger and tested its balance... just like he had been taught by Iruka-sensei. His interest in Jack's friend began to grow, rapidly.

Ric turned away from the table and faced the targets. Unbidden, a memory of his childhood came rushing back. He was standing in a large open space behind a great, rambling, and ancient house. He recalled his grandmother looming over him, staring down at him with stern eyes... then he heard the command echo in his head: '_Saidosuro, hajime._'

Taking a breath and letting it out half-way, he executed a side-arm throw and launched the dagger at the left of center target. It flew across the gym and hit the target, the kunai sunk to the handle in the outer red ring at the 6 o'clock spot, barely missing the gold center. Ric turned back to Naruto talking to himself in a soft voice, "The weight's... different." He looked at Naruto and flashed him a smile. "Thank you, that was interesting."

Naruto and Hinata exchanged looks. Of all the things they'd seen, this was the first occasion that reminded them more of Konoha, rather than their new home. Jack's friend had used a throwing style that they had read about in their Academy textbooks, but never taught... at least not to Genin.

Hinata knew why the throw was off; Naruto's kunai's were from that common weapons shop, not from Tenten's family store, like hers. Tenten would have had a fit if you even hinted that the weapons they sold were off balance, not razor sharp or less than top quality. Hinata took a half-step towards Naruto and Ric. "Ano... Ric-san, who taught you to throw like that?"

He gave her a sour look. "My Obasama, otherwise known as the Onibaba."

Hinata opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Naruto's choked laugh; his hands shot up to cover his mouth when he saw the look Hinata gave him. While she loved him with all her heart, he was _badly_ in need of some civilizing.

She had discovered, rather quickly, that a frown from her could halt Naruto in his tracks... and that she rather enjoyed her new-found power to instill manners in him.

She turned her shaded eyes back to Ric. She replied in the Ancient Tongue. "_Your honored grandmother is a good teacher_."

Ric bowed and gracefully took her rebuke with a smile. "That she is. I'll give her that much."

Jack watched the word-play with interest. '_Damn, Hinata just smacked down Naruto and Ric. This is going to be a fun day_.' He smiled and added aloud. "Okay guys, on with the show." He politely grabbed Ric and Jeri's shoulders and steered them back to the main group. After they rejoined Hammond and the rest, the real show began.

"I'm first." Naruto announced, grabbing 6 of his kunais off the table, 3 in each hand, and stepped up to the line. "Would one of you help me with this?" Naruto said and looked at the 2 new guys.

"I'd be happy to give ya a hand." Jeri replied, moving away from the small group and stepped up to Naruto's left side.

Naruto turned to him, hands out. "Hold 4 of these, handles up... but not too tight, I don't want you to get cut."

Jeri grinned. "Don't worry 'bout me, you won't hurt these hands." He said, taking 4 of the kunais, placing them between his fingers, 2 in each hand.

"Everyone watching...?" Naruto asked, and everyone nodded, most of them smiling. "I've only been practicing this about half an hour, and throwing weapons really isn't my style... Tenten is a _lot_ better at this, throwing weapons is her specialty. She can throw all 6 at the same time and they'd all be a bulls eye... she _never_ misses."

Jeri and Ric glanced at each other, both made a mental note of her name.

"Naruto." Hinata said politely, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, sorry. Here we go." Naruto said, then focused as he adjusted his grip on the kunai handle in each hand. He raised his arms and threw one at each outside target, quickly grabbed the next pair and threw those at the inner set of targets. Then did the same for the last 2 kunai at the center targets; he looked and smiled. All 6 were 'in the red'. Even thought they weren't centered, it was good enough for him. "Pretty good, huh?" Naruto asked with a big smile.

"Impressive." Teal'c said.

"I'll say." Daniel commented, more than a little surprised. Even after everything he'd seen in his time with SG1, _that_ was impressive.

'_For his age, that's a very high level of skill. I wonder when he started training?_' Jeri eyed the targets. "Well done, son." He gave Naruto a gentle pat on his shoulder. Naruto smiled in response to the praise.

"Cool." Jack added, smiling bigger than he had been all morning.

Ric looked at the targets and nodded appreciatively. "Smartly done, Naruto." He mentally added, '_He attacked the flank targets first, then worked his way inward. Hmm... His sensei focused on fighting in the real world._'

Sam just nodded, wide-eyed with amazement. "They never taught us that at the Air Force Academy." Sam quietly noted to herself aloud.

Naruto heard Sam's comment... his smile got slightly bigger. "Your turn Hinata."

"Thank you Naruto." Hinata replied with a smile and moved to join Naruto and her newest team mate. "Please return to the others for my demonstration." Hinata asked with a small bow. Jeri nodded with a smile and rejoined Jack and Ric standing nearby.

"What are you going to show us Hinata?" Sam asked, growing excited at the prospect of Hinata's display of ninja trade craft.

"I think my best skills should be saved for the very end, but I would like to join Naruto in a demonstration of stealth." Hinata replied, and looked at Naruto.

Naruto cocked his head in curiosity. "Are you sure you want to do that now Hinata?" She reaffirmed her choice with a nod; Naruto gave her a foxy smile. "Okay, I'm ready when you are." He replied, and patted his right pants pocket. Naruto added to himself, '_I don't have notes for Jack's friends. Oh well, I guess placing one will have to do_'.

Hinata suppressed a giggle. "Would everyone move closer please..." Hinata asked. She watched as everyone drew closer, some shrugging, some exchanging glances, but all moving as requested until they formed a loose group, now only 5 feet from her and Naruto.

Hinata moved to center herself before the group. "I know all of you aren't soldiers (a concept she was still puzzling over), but I'd like everyone to be... on alert. No matter what happens, please remember that this is only a demonstration, and you won't be harmed in any way." Hinata explained with a reassuring smile, then quickly glanced at Naruto and nodded.

At that, she pulled the smoke bomb from her belt pouch and threw it at Jack's feet. It exploded into a large cloud of smoke, easily filling an area 40 feet across, totally obscuring everyone's vision for about 12 seconds.

Even before the moment the grayish cloud enveloped him, Naruto thought, '_I can do this. I outran every ANBU in Konoha after I painted the Hokage Monument, and fooled them too_.' He focused tightly and pushed more chakra into his legs... he felt them begin to tingle. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated of his other senses... his hearing, touch, and sense of smell. Naruto bit his lip to maintain his focus as the scents of everyone close at hand, especially Hinata battered him. Naruto sensed the movement of Hinata's hand as it moved towards her utility pouch, and the smoke bomb. He gripped the pad of post-it notes in his pocket, and smiled in anticipation.

Then he heard the 'pop' of the smoke bomb, the acrid smoke tickled his sensitized nose. Using the memory of where everybody had been standing, Naruto pulled out the pad and sprang into action... everything went smoothly as he weaved amongst the members of SG1 and the others, until he got close to Ric and Jeri. He placed the notes well enough but he felt the air move over his head... he suspected that one of them, or both, had lashed out as he rushed around them. With that part done, he had one last thing to do... he just hoped the smoke would last just a little bit longer...

As Naruto came to a halt near his starting point, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief; no one... well, nearly no one had sensed his prank. As the smoke dispersed enough, he eye-smiled as he saw Hinata gone, apparently unnoticed. His excitement grew as he watched everyone's actions through the thinning smoke.

Waving his hands in front of his face, Jack cleared away the smoke and coughed lightly. "Well... it's better than tear gas." He declared with a smile.

"Much." Ric nodded in agreement, watching the smoke being drawn upwards to the gym's vents... he wondered if it would trigger off the sensors in the base's HVAC system. Ric recalled his first experience with CS and grimaced... unpleasant would have been the kindest description.

"Sorry about that, but warning you wouldn't of helped any. It'll be gone soon." Naruto explained, standing almost in the same spot before the smoke bomb went off, minus Hinata.

"Where's Hinata?" Sam asked, once the smoke had dispelled enough to see the entire gym.

"She's standing nearby... I guess you'll have to find her. Oh yeah... she said to tell you she's nearby, and not behind anything. Stand where you are now and look for her; you have 2 minutes to find her before she shows herself." Naruto announced with a grin.

In a quiet voice Ric spoke to Jeri. "You go high and clock-wise, I'll look level and counter clock-wise. Ignore what Naruto said, eye everything in sight, and omit nothing."

With his senses still heightened, Naruto heard Ric's instructions and kept a straight face. '_It's a good thing I told them they couldn't move_... _Jack's friends are way different than a lot of the people in SGC_.'

With a practiced eye, Jeri's eyes scanned the ceiling girders and the shadowy corners not covered by the gym's lighting. He passed over the rest of the upper half, except for various pro team banners and other things hanging from the walls, there was no spot for a human to fully conceal themselves. He checked the ceiling area a second time before he stopped... and began scanning the bottom half of the gym on his own initiative.

Ric slowly examined the lower half of the gym, examining the shadows cast by the various bins, tall wire baskets, and the lockers along the walls. Nothing... every shadow and outline was as it should be. He eyed the short hallway at the far end and squatted on the balls of his feet; he recalled Naruto's instructions and smiled to himself. He focused on the shadowy hallway. '_Hmm... if she's there, she's very well hidden. Though not quite as well as_...' He frowned, a particular memory of Obasama popped up; his frown deepened as other moments joined that memory. He gave his face a light double slap with both hands to clear his head. "Hey Jeri."

"Yes sir?" he responded, his eyes still scanning the gym.

"You wouldn't happen to have an M84 on you, would ya?"

Still scanning about, he patted his pockets for show. "Nope, fresh out."

"Pity." Ric stood up and turned away from the hallway. "Oh well, we'll just have to acquire what we need, as we can."

Jeri detected the implied order in Ric's casual statement. "Can do Major." Jeri ceased scanning the gym and looked over at his boss; he saw what was on Ric's back and smiled. '_Well, well_...'

Daniel was looking about when he stopped, holding in his laughter and nudged Sam, standing to his right. When she looked at him, he pointed in front of him with a poke of his index finger in Dr Fraiser's direction. His curiosity roused, he abandoned the hunt for Hinata and started looking about at the people around him.

Sam clenched her jaw to smother her laugh, then went back to looking for Hinata.

Teal'c briefly cracked a small smile when he looked where Daniel had pointed.

Dr Fraiser heard a noise, a strangled snicker, and looked behind her. She saw Sam, Daniel and Teal'c quickly turn away and glance around the gym.

===Almost 2 minutes later===

Hinata counted down the final 30 seconds in her head. She had her back pressed against a wall, near the far end of the gym, between the door to the hallway and the interior wall. Her breathing was soft and shallow, her chakra suppressed below civilian level; she knew even Naruto couldn't detect her in her current mode.

Hinata resisted her urge to smile as she looked at them, her left cheek pressed against the cool cement wall, they'd looked right at her several times and she knew from their eyes they'd missed her. The single exception was Jack's friend and even he, after a long look in her direction, turned away after slapping himself in the face... a gesture that had almost caused her to laugh. Only another Hyuuga, a few of the Elite Jonin and Tsunade-sama could find her, let alone see her outright.

Hinata thought, '_Time's almost up._'

Daniel was facing in the right direction when Hinata stepped out of the shadows and into the gym. "Whoa." His comment caused the others to turn as well.

Jeri leaned closer to his commander. "She's good. I looked at that hallway twice and saw nuthin."

Ric nodded. "Nope, I didn't _see_ her either."

Jeri nodded at his implied comment... it was her good fortune that neither of them were carrying their usual toys with them. Either he, or the Major could have thrown a flash-bang far enough to reach that hallway. That being said, it was an impressive display of skill, especially for someone so young. He added silently, '_These kids are full of tricks. I wonder where Jack rustled them up from?_'

Sam gave Hinata a few soft claps. "That was great. How did you do that?"

Hinata smiled and thought back on the long years she had watched Naruto quietly from afar, ever hoping for the day she could openly walk by his side. "Practice. Years and years of practice." She replied with a tiny smile. As she walked towards them, they moved to close the distance... and that's when it all started.

Dr Fraiser coughed. "General Hammond, there seems to be something on your back." She reached out and plucked a blue post-it note off his jacket and handed it to him.

He twitched a smile as he noted the single word written on it, 'Dismissed'.

Daniel spoke next. "Hey Jack, here's yours."

Jack laughed as he read the note Daniel handed him. "Talk to the butt. The head is leaving." He looked upwards. "I wonder who could have done this?"

Teal'c handed Sam her note. She smiled as she read it. "Back off man, I'm a scientist." She laughed and returned the favor.

Teal'c flashed a brief smile. "Indeed." He pocketed the post-it note with the same word written on it.

Jack grinned as he handed Daniel his. "This looks like good advice Daniel."

Daniel snickered. "Read me." Sam giggled and poked him in the ribs.

Ric leaned back and pulled the note off Jeri's back... it was blank. Ric smiled to himself. '_Apparently Naruto didn't want us to feel left out_.' He considered what was written on the other notes and wondered what would have been written on his, and Jeri's.

He watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye. '_So it wasn't my imagination... I knew there was a reason why I had the urge to throw that punch behind me... among other things. He still managed to move through that smoke, get behind Jeri and I, and tag us. Interesting... this bears further investigation_.'

Ric flicked the post-it with his fingers. "May as well get mine too, Jeri."

Jeri nodded, looked at Ric's back and pulled off the blank post-it note. He chuckled. "I guess we're not worth commenting about." He added silently. '_I wonder how much I missed hitting him by... it's a good thing Sensei isn't here, I'd probably be doing push-ups right now, and he'd be laughing the whole time_.'

Ric looked at Hammond and waved his blank note. "You know sir, since I first arrived here; I've heard numerous rumors concerning wholesale mischief and all manner of deviltry here at SGC."

General Hammond quickly grasped Von Krieger's line of approach; he reached over and pulled the post-it note off Dr Fraiser's back and handed it to her. He shifted his gaze to Ric. "You're quite right, Major. Things have been a bit disorderly here as of late."

Janet read her note. She enjoyed a good joke as much as anyone in SG1, but being called 'Dr Needles' deserved retribution in her book. Knowing how fast Naruto healed, his next few examinations would be full of accidental misses when she took a blood sample, among other unpleasant tests she could give him. She could bend her ethics a little, as she'd ONLY do this to Naruto because he'd heal almost instantly... and understand why she did it.

Naruto glanced from Hammond to Dr Fraiser-sensei, who was wearing a smile that looked uncomfortably like Baa-chan's... and not in a good way as she crumpled the note in her hand. Naruto audibly gulped as he glanced over at Jack's friends. Ric had his note stuck to a finger and was wagging it back and forth like a flag. Jeri was staring at him with a smile worthy of an Inuzuka... and a hungry one at that.

His eyes sought out Hinata... and found her doing a face palm and head-shake combo. He briefly considered doing a 'make Shadow Clones and flee' maneuver, then he heard Ric speaking with an odd accent.

"I say Ollie, I think we've found the rascal out." Ric nodded towards Naruto.

"I do believe you're right, Stan." Jeri had his arms crossed over his chest.

Jack bit on a finger to keep from laughing his ass off; he had seen this routine before... it _never_ ended well for the focus of his friends' attention. He decided to save Naruto, for the moment.

"That was great, Naruto." Jack clapped his hands together. "You're going to have to do that again at the New Year's Eve party." His effort to inject a bit of humor was rewarded with a round of chuckles.

Daniel spoke up. "By the way Naruto, how did you and Hinata decide who was going to do what, and when?" He too had seen the look in the Major's eyes and hoped to redirect things back to the matter at hand... besides; he wanted to see what else Naruto and Hinata could do.

"We flipped a coin, and Hinata is doing her demonstration last... but I think what Hinata is going to do is way cooler anyway, but she insisted on a coin flip to be fair." Naruto explained and smiled, glancing at Hinata, who blushed lightly. Naruto started glancing around like he was looking for something. "Hinata, have you seen my sunglasses?"

Hinata giggled, also pleased that Naruto's prank hadn't totally blown up in his face. "Hai." She replied, and pointed upwards. Everyone's eyes followed her finger and saw a pair of black-framed Fox Outdoor Tactical Sunglasses looped over a support cable.

Naruto looked up and sighed loudly. "Oh great." Naruto commented, he hoped they bought his act.

"Wait one... how did your shades get up there?" Jack asked, the cable in question was at least 10 feet away from the nearest structural girder.

Sam and Daniel nodded in agreement, almost in unison.

"I was up there earlier... I like high places, it helps me think. No problem, I'll be right back." Naruto explained, and smiled at Hinata with a wink.

Nearly everyone's eyes bugged out and jaws dropped as Naruto casually jogged to the nearest wall... and without breaking stride, jogged UP the wall, and then onto the rocky ceiling in total defiance of gravity. Everyone watched in silence as Naruto, upside down, picked his way across the rocky ceiling, moving to the cable in question, and reached down to recover his sunglasses.

That done, they watched in amazement as Naruto eyed the nearest girder, bent his knees and launched towards it, flipping in mid-air, and landed squarely on the steel beam... finally standing upright.

With that done, he looked at the gym floor, slipped on his shades, then hopped off the girder. Dropping to the floor, he landed gracefully and dropped into a squat with barely a sound, his right hand touching the floor to steady himself.

Hinata grinned in amusement, slightly shaking her head at his playful demonstration.

Naruto stood up and jogged back towards them, a conspicuous foxy grin on his face. "Did we forget to mention that we can walk on the walls, ceilings, _and_ water using our chakra?" Many in the small crowd shook their heads 'no' in response. "Oops." Naruto added, a playful tone in his voice; his comment broke the silence in the gym.

Jack yelled out, "I have GOT to learn how to do THAT!" His exclamation triggered off a flurry of nods in agreement, and chuckles.

Daniel pulled off his glasses and stared at them, then put them back on, shaking his head. "It's just like all the ninja legends I've ever read." Little did he realize Ric was thinking the exact same thing... only he had heard such stories at his Obasama's knee.

Teal'c said nothing, but the look on his face, obviously impressed, said much more than he typically spoke aloud.

Sam, for once, just only managed to say, "Wow." If science was the Goddess she worshipped, Naruto had just taken her Goddess, spanked her ass, and shoved her in a wall locker. Then, for good measure, slapped Sam's ass, and gave her a suggestive wink. In the space of less than 30 seconds he'd totally taken Sam's view of reality, and turned it upside down. Nothing she'd encountered was even close to this... Naruto had shut down her brain.

Jeri shook his head in complete disbelief. "Well I'll be dipped in shit." He glanced over at Ric who was standing there silently with his eyes shut. He lightly elbowed his boss. "Did ya miss the show?"

Von Krieger slowly opened his eyes and gave Jeri a tiny frown. "Oh no, I didn't miss a thing." He replied in a low voice and added silently. '_It's a shame I can't apologize to Baa-chan, if I told her about 'this', I seriously doubt that all of SGC's security force could keep her out_.'

The shock, and surprise of Naruto's display of ability fading, Jeri frowned and shook his head. "Ya know boss, he's even more remarkable if you think about it."

Ric glanced at Jeri with a raised eyebrow. "Oh really? How so?" Ric noted the look on Jeri's face and looked back at Naruto. After a few seconds of observation, Ric nodded. "I see your point." He chuckled darkly. "Yeah, any ninja who thinks wearing orange is a good idea, and _isn't_ taking a dirt nap... _has_ to be good." Ric snorted. "Or lucky."

Jeri nodded in agreement. "Yup, probably... or maybe both." Jeri frowned again. "That being said... he ain't wearing _that_ on any op I'm in on."

Ric nodded. "I concur. _That..._" Ric nodded at Naruto. "...is a walking aim-point." Ric narrowed his eyes. "Sergeant Hayes, get a sense of their level of field and trade-craft, and address any issues. I'll have a chat with Jack, and if necessary, our new boss. I've got a _bunch_ of questions that require answers."

Jeri smiled. "Yes sir. I'll see to it."

General Hammond stood motionless and silent, but his mind was racing a mile a minute.

Dr Fraiser was equally silent, but inside, she was jumping up and down like a sugared-up tween... and imagining meeting, and comparing notes with 'medical' ninjas. Naruto, to his good fortune, had managed to dispel the divine wrath she _was_ planning on visiting him with.

===April 3, 10:00 AM, Hokage's Office, Konoha===

Tsunade glanced at the clock on the wall... for the second time in less than a week, Kakashi had shown up not only on time, but early... to everyone's amazement. '_Perhaps he really has changed_.' She resisted the urge to check for a Genjutsu, and accepted the possibility that even Hell could freeze over.

She swept the room with her eyes and nodded approvingly. Everyone she needed was here... she resisted the urge to grin as she noted Kurenai and Kakashi standing _very_ close to each other... almost touching, in fact. '_So... the gossip is true_.' Tsunade played with the few remaining papers on her desk... a very welcome change, as an excuse to order her thoughts, and mask her excitement. This was going to be her first visit to the Stargate's new home, too. She had taken Neko's advice and restrained herself... she wanted very badly to look again at the object that had turned her, and Konoha's existence on its ear... and it's new resting place.

"First off, I want to thank everyone for arriving so promptly, especially you Shiho-san. I've been made aware of your diligence, and your excellent work at crypto. Well done." Tsunade gave her a nod of thanks; Shiho responded with a shy smile, a cute blush of embarrassment and an awkward bow.

She turned her attention to the pair of Nara's in the room... she puzzled over the sleepy smirk on Shikaku's face, and the annoyed look on Shikamaru's face. "Have you briefed your son on the conditions of being at this meeting?"

Shikaku's smirk faded and was replaced by a normal smile. "Hai, Hokage-sama. He was particularly attentive this morning." That smirk returned as he glanced at his son. "It was rather remarkable, given that he rose earlier than usual this morning."

Tsunade noted Shikamaru's frown turning to a sourer flavor. "Really? This is a day for first's then."

Shikamaru gave his father a dark look. '_As if anyone could sleep with mom howling like an Inuzuka in heat... first I wake up to that, then I get my free day yanked out from under me... this is all very troublesome_.' Shikamaru grumbled, "You have no idea, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade hid her grin behind her clasped hands. She thought about what he was going to be looking at shortly. '_No... you don't_.' "Perhaps not, but we'll see about that, won't we? At any rate, that saves me a bit of time; I don't feel like growling and uttering dire warnings this morning... it's too nice a day for that." She turned her attention back to Shiho. "By the way, Shiho-san, you're out of uniform."

Shiho stiffened, and blinked in surprise, not that anyone could tell with the glasses she wore. She bowed deeply and stammered out an apology. "I'm so sorry Hokage-sama..."

The dam finally burst and Tsunade began laughing, and gently (for her) slapping her desk. "No, no... Shiho-kun, I'm sorry... I couldn't help myself." She wiped the tears from her eyes, opened a lower desk drawer... and pulled out a vest. "Congratulations, Chuunin Hisajima. Consider this a long-overdue recognition of your tireless and excellent work on behalf of Konoha."

Shiho looked up from her deep bow and sank to her knees in shock. She squeaked out the word, "Chuunin...?" Everyone smiled and voiced their congratulations.

Kurenai moved to her side and helped her to her feet; Sakura went to the desk, picked up the vest and presented it to Shiho. Kurenai helped a stunned Shiho take off her lab coat and don the vest. She leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "You'll need more suitable clothes now. Go to the Iron Kimono and tell the owner I sent you... she'll take care of _all_ your needs." Kurenai leaned back and adjusted the vest. "It looks good on you." Then she frowned and added in a playful tone, "That dress _has _to go, though."

Tsunade cleared her throat. "By the way Sakura-kun, just so you know, you'll be working alongside Chuunin Hisajima."

Shiho brightened. "Oh... that's good. We could use more..."

Tsunade cut her off with a wave of her hand. "You misunderstand, Shiho-kun. You're not going back to the Crypto Unit." Tsunade then looked at Shikamaru. "Nor for the moment, will you, Shikamaru-kun, be going back to your team."

Shikamaru nodded. "That much is obvious, Hokage-sama." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "The presence of Kurenai-san, obviously in a better mood than a few days ago, and Sakura here..." He briefly opened his eyes and nodded in her direction. "...who was single-handedly spreading gloom over most of Konoha until yesterday, now in an equally good mood, tells me everything I need to know."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "The only logical conclusion is that some formerly missing shinobi... are not quite as dead as once thought." Shikamaru let out a deep breath. "Hopefully, the spies in Konoha, from every other Hidden Village, aren't paying attention to all this." Shikamaru gave them a wry smile. "Or, hopefully chalk it up to the fickleness of troublesome women."

Tsunade shook her head in disbelief, and chuckled. "Shikaku, good luck on getting your son married off... in spite of his brilliance."

Shikaku snorted, "I think that's what he's hoping for." He noted the multiple cold stares from the women in the room. "Even so, he is right. Due caution is in order; things are already out of the ordinary here in Konoha. No sense in adding to that."

Tsunade saw his point, more tactfully made than his son had. "True, and so noted." She stood up. "Well, I think it's time that we take the next step forward." Tsunade turned her attention to Shiho. "Shiho-kun, given your previous assignment, I think I can dispense with the 'you talk, you die' speech. Your new assignment is vastly more important than the previous one, if that's possible."

Shiho, slightly confused by the turn of events, but emboldened by her new-found rank, and Tsunade's open praise of her work, bowed deeply. "I'm honored by your trust, and faith in me, Hokage-sama. I promise that I will do the best I can, whatever that task may be."

Tsunade smiled. '_That's what I'm hoping for_.' "Then it's settled." Her smile widened as she glanced at Kakashi, Kurenai, and Shikaku. "Stand by." She moved to Shiho's side and gently grabbed her arm; Kakashi did like-wise with Sakura and Shikaku with his son. "You all know the next stop, and how to get there. So..." She looked at her Jonin. "...let's go."

===April 3, 10:30 AM, Konoha Stargate Complex, Stargate Chamber===

Three shunshin (for misdirection), and a walk down a long tunnel later...

They all stood stock-still after entering the main chamber, taking in the details. Even Shikamaru, who normally projected an air of lassitude towards nearly everything, was wide-eyed at the scene before him. He turned his gaze towards the Stargate and took in its details; for the first time in his life, the undercurrent of boredom that perpetually gripped him was gone. Before him was a mysterious puzzle that his formidable intellect grabbed at... and came up empty-handed.

Shikamaru glanced at his father, standing next to him, and could tell he was fairing no better at grappling with the object before them. Shikamaru quietly remarked, "This is beyond troublesome..." And added silently. '_And I love it._'

Initially motionless like the rest of the group, Sakura's feet, seemingly of their own accord began to move. To the casual observer, her movement looked to be directionless... nothing could be further from the truth. Fueled by her remarkable intelligence, working in tandem with her intuition... her eyes took in every detail of the huge chamber. She especially noted a table near the center with an organized pile of 10 scrolls, and one of the newest computers (a rare item) available... under the watchful eye of an ANBU. Sakura's excitement grew as she looked at the scrolls... she could barely wait to see what was written within them.

Her eyes shifted to the upright, gray metal ring... and a squat metallic object nearby that looked like a lop-sided mushroom. The other detail that immediately caught her eye was a large yellow rectangle painted on the roughened stone floor, bordering the ring, which was set in a smooth stone base, and the long ramp connected to it.

Taking it all in, she vowed that the next time she saw Naruto, he'd see that the Sakura he knew was gone... and that a better one, far more worthy of his friendship and trust, had taken her place.

The huge metal ring, marked at regular intervals with unrecognizable symbols, drew Shiho in. Given her work with codes, the sight of mysterious symbols didn't faze her in the least. The whole... alien feel to it did creep her out a little, but she figured that feeling would diminish in time. Shiho couldn't help but wonder who had made it, and why. As she slowly moved towards the ring to get a better look at it, Shiho noticed that Tsunade had joined her... she looked at Tsunade. "What is its purpose?"

Tsunade stared at it for a long moment before replying. "To put it simply, it's a doorway... a gate to other worlds, many of which are not unlike our own." All heads turned at that statement of fact. "I've been told it's referred to as a Stargate."

Shiho took a few steps towards the Stargate. She asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Will we be able to go through it? To see these other... worlds?"

Tsunade sighed. "In theory, yes. However, General Hammond, the commander of the place where Naruto and Hinata are, has warned me that considerable caution is in order. Not every destination that gate can take you to is safe, or friendly." She moved closer to the Stargate, with Shiho following. "And, there are enemies lurking beyond that Stargate."

Both Nara's, who had quietly joined them, chuckled at that. Shikaku spoke up, "There are always enemies... shadows and light go hand in hand."

Sakura tore her eyes away from the Stargate and walked towards Tsunade. "Is Naruto... and Hinata safe where they are? What kind of people are they with?"

Tsunade shrugged. "As safe as one could expect... I suppose." She glanced at the ring and certain parts of Naruto's private file came to mind. "No, I take that back. I'd say safer." She reached into a pocket in her robe and handed Sakura a photograph... everyone gathered around her. Tsunade smiled. "That's a picture of the team that Naruto and Hinata are a part of." Then thought. '_Don't you dare die on me... Naruto-kun._'

"They look just like us." Shiho remarked, as she took in the details; then she focused on one particular face.

Shikamaru chuckled. "In more ways than one, the man behind Naruto has the same kind of smile as him." Kakashi nodded in agreement; Kurenai peeked around him, pressing against him at the same time.

"Who's the woman next to Hinata?" Kurenai asked... and added silently. '_And with her arm around Hinata-chan_.'

Tsunade detected the tone in Kurenai's voice and refrained from smiling. "She's an officer in their military, and a scholar... they're called 'scientists' on their world. Apparently she's been studying..." She pointed at the Stargate. "...that thing, and is considered one of the leading experts on it."

Sakura asked. "Are any of the scrolls over there written by her?" Sakura pointed at the table she had noted earlier.

Tsunade glanced at the table in question. "I believe so. I haven't had time to read them all; just the ones from the Shogun."

Kakashi perked up. "Ah yes, the code name for Hammond."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. And that's the _only_ name he'll be known by." She looked at Shiho, Sakura, and Shikamaru meaningfully; they all nodded in acknowledgement. "Well then, we'll talk more about this later." Tsunade tapped the photo. "Go ahead and keep that... but leave it _here_, I've got my own copy."

She stood and squared her shoulders. "Kurenai, your task will be to teach these 3..." She pointed at Shiho, Shikamaru, and Sakura. "...how to get past the Genjutsu Seals guarding the entrance to here. Kakashi, you'll bring Sakura from now on, until you succeed in teaching her the shunshin; Shikaku, you'll do likewise with your son."

Tsunade paused for a moment. "Shiho, you'll be getting a special cover story via an ANBU delivery tonight; memorize it, then destroy it, completely." She looked at Kurenai. "For tomorrow, and as needed, you'll shunshin Shiho here. After bringing her here, you'll carry on with your normal Jonin duties."

Kurenai nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade looked at Shiho again. "Your instructions on how to access this place will be given by the ANBU who came to you today... you'll meet her at the Hot Springs tomorrow at 7:00 PM, she'll ID herself by pinching you on your left cheek." Shiho reached up and touched her face. Tsunade shook her head and patted herself on the butt. "No, the other cheek."

Shiho blushed. "Oh my." A round of chuckles only deepened the blush.

Tsunade took a step backward. "Okay, here's the drill. Shiho and Sakura, go through all the scrolls, study them and transfer _everything_ noteworthy into the computer. Shikamaru, read through the scrolls as well, and make sure that you share any and all insights with your co-workers. In addition, I'll be making all the scrolls I've gotten from the Shogun available to all of you as well... study them closely. I'll be wanting your insights on Shogun, his advice, and anything else you pick up on."

Shiho raised her hand. "If I may suggest it, could we write and send questions to the Shogun, and any of the others working under him, if we need further details concerning the Stargate, and other matters?"

Tsunade thought about it for a few moments, then nodded. "That's an excellent idea, Shiho-kun. Yes, by all means, do so."

Both Shiho, and Sakura silently yelled, '_YES!_'

Tsunade grinned. "Okay... is everyone ready to get started?"

Everyone replied in unison. "Hai, Hokage-sama." Their reply echoed around the chamber.

"Excellent." Tsunade smiled. "Have fun, kids."

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End Chapter 7

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**Editor's Notes**:

[1] Yosei = fairy

[2] 'Fairy of Life' [Suimei's full (and true) title is 'Seimei no Hoseki no Yosei': Fairy of the Gem of Life.]

[3] Hinata, the Guardian of the Gem of Life.

[4] Army slang for a Second Lieutenant.

[5] SGC's court is JHS-sized: 74' x 42'.

[6] CAB - Combat Action Badge

[7] CIB - Combat Infantry Badge [Ric - 3 awards; Jeri - 4 awards]

[8] mon = (family/clan) crest

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Author's Note: There's a poll in my profile about this fic, I just want to know your preference, if any, for which show the fic favors, or if both deserve equal time. No PM's, just vote in the poll please. Thank you.

Also, due to real life demands, the posting schedule for this fic will be every 2-3 weeks instead of every 2. My other fics will be updated as I finish new chapters, which should be soon as several are almost ready. Please R&R.


	8. Showing Off, Talking and Training

NinjaGate

Showing off, Talking and Training

By: MikeJV37

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Author's Note: This is a very long chapter, so grab something stimulating... like Coffee or Mt Dew and get comfy. Oh, a good portion is devoted to the OC's, but it's very important, so _no_ complaints. They're Main Characters, not background. Also, I cleaned up and reposted all of Tsunade's Vow if you haven't read it in the last week, so check it out again. Back to this chapter... please R&R (especially if you're a new reader).

Chapter 1 has been edited, and re-posted, to fit the style of chapters 4 an above, please go back and re-read it.

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* Intro Scene *

After the events of yesterday, everyone had re-gathered with a heightened sense of anticipation. As pre-arranged by General Hammond, everyone had gathered in the Mess Hall... and to their surprise, he had been waiting with a photographer and took a group shot of the new SG1 team, plus Dr Fraiser. Hammond had declined to join them in the picture, but did join them for breakfast... Naruto grumbled the whole time as Hinata, and Sam, kept a tight rein on his table manners.

As an act of creative mischief during breakfast, Ric successfully juggled 4 sausage links for about half a minute before lobbing each one into his open mouth... and after wiggling them, to laughter and claps, began chewing them noisily; Naruto laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. After that finale, everyone headed for the gym...

===April 4, 8:10 AM, SGC, Gymnasium No. 1===

"This is what I've been waiting for... but before I show you my best jutsu, I need to show the new guys my favorite jutsu." Naruto exclaimed, then made the cross hand-sign with his index fingers. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Three large puffs of smoke burst out of nowhere, then dispersed revealing three perfect copies of himself...

Jeri took a half step back, automatically assuming a solid stance suitable for either attack or defense... years of training and experience overriding his utter astonishment; he willed his arms to remain motionless lest they do likewise. Jeri's eyes glanced downward and immediately noted that the gym mat was equally indented underneath the feet of all four... Naruto's. '_Holy Fuck... they're solid... copies?_.' Jeri immediately put on his dojo face, sealing away all outward signs of emotion, after that he shot Jack a hard glance. '_O'Neill's been holding out on us. That whiskered kid ain't from Japan... or anywhere else I've ever heard of._'

Ric bit his lower lip to suppress a gasp as he felt a sharp, almost overwhelming, twinge in his gut... for the second time since had entered the gym. For a brief moment visibly swaying as he battled with a powerful, but indefinable sensation, before regaining control of himself and settled into solid, motionless stance. Ric started as he realized the sensation was not unlike the very first time he was brought before Obasama... only this time it was much, much worse. His eyes briefly flicked towards Jack, who was grinning like a child getting a shiny new bicycle. '_We are going to have a serious chat about this, Jack_.' Ric forced his hands to relax after he heard his knuckles pop and crack; he took a deep, cleansing breath, and focused on Naruto.

Standing to the right of, and slightly behind the pair of newcomers, Dr Fraiser, out of the corner of her eye, caught the Major's movement, and apparent distress, but said nothing. She decided to follow up the matter up later... a tiny voice in the back of mind warned her that approaching him now might cause... a problematic reaction.

"First off, we're going to move the log that General Hammond got for my demonstration... thanks." Naruto said with a nod to Hammond. At that, all 4 of them headed straight to the right-hand wall between the bathrooms where it stood upright. Three of them formed a line as the fourth tipped the log towards them. After catching it, they hoisted the 8' long tree trunk onto their shoulders, quickly carried it to the center of the room, and placed it upright on the gym mats.

Both Jeri and Ric watched the transfer of the log with silent interest... for the exact same reason. Both of them had fairly good idea how much that log... easily over 2' in diameter, weighed. They quietly exchanged comments.

Jeri rubbed his chin. "He's handling that pretty easy... I figure it's around 400 pounds."

Ric frowned in thought. "It's the trunk of a fir tree; I say more in the range of 500 pounds." He added silently. '_Naruto probably used... chakra to up his speed for that stunt with the notes; it looks like it they can use it to boost their strength as well_.'

That task complete, 2 of the clones dispelled in clouds of smoke. After that, Naruto moved 12 feet away from the log with his remaining clone, then looked back at the small group, the 2 new guys especially. He pointed in the general direction of Jack. "They'll explain my Shadow Clones and what a jutsu is later... I got that a lot at home too."

Hinata smiled. She'd heard the... 'when you're older' line, and all its versions, many times too.

"Watch closely because I don't think they'll let me do this again... at least not inside." Naruto added with a foxy smile, then faced the log with his right hand held out, palm up. He shifted his position enough so that they could see his hand.

The crowd moved quickly further right for a better look. Jack had an eager smile on his face; this was going to be much better view than the first time he witnessed it. Unlike that moment, he could chat with Naruto afterward.

Everyone watched as the clone Naruto moved his hands rapidly over the original's hand as though it was molding something. After a few seconds of that activity, a blue ball of swirling energy began to grow in the palm of Naruto's hand until it reached the size of a grapefruit. A faint, but discernible sound filled the gym... it reminded many of a growing, powerful wind, but at a much higher pitch than normal.

Jack leaned forward in anticipation; he quietly commented, "This is gonna be so cool."

Looking back to insure the ball of chakra was the proper size, Naruto nodded to his clone... the clone Naruto returned the nod and dispelled in a puff of smoke. Intent on impressing his audience, Naruto rushed the log, his arm cocked. In an eye blink, he reached the target and thrust his arm forward when he got in range. He yelled... "RASENGAN!" ...just before the swirling sphere made contact with the log.

Jeri watched the proceedings more intently than everyone present, save Ric. The moment the blue sphere of energy appeared in Naruto's hand, he focused his full attention on Naruto and what he was doing, every movement, his stance... everything.

It was a martial art technique of some sort, that much Jeri knew instantly, but the fact that he could SEE a materialization of chi, was simply incredible. It had to be a very advanced skill, but how someone his age could do it, was beyond even his understanding of martial arts. From Jeri's perspective, and experience, that level of focus shouldn't be possible. As Naruto's technique hit he clearly heard a shredding sound as it penetrated the log, then there was an explosion and the log blew in half. On reflex he, and everyone else, covered their eyes to protect them from splinters, though unlikely at that distance... better safe than sorry.

The reaction to shield his eyes only lasted for a couple of seconds, but when Jeri looked again, he could scarcely hide his surprise. The 8 foot long, 2 foot thick log looked like it had been drilled through and snapped in half. The lower section had barely moved from where it had been placed, but the remainder of the log was still slowly rolling away, an easy 20 feet away from where Naruto was still standing.

He turned to face them, breathing a little harder than normal, a huge smile on his face. "What did everyone think of my Rasengan?" The spontaneous clapping that followed, led by Jack, was like music to his ears... and the smile on Hinata's face made his heart leap.

Ric took it all in with a mix of emotions that few present could possibly understand. The earlier demonstrations by Naruto and Hinata had triggered a stream of previously buried memories... All them involving his childhood visits to his grandmother's estate in Koka Prefecture, most of them warm and joyful, but a few of them were painful and sad.

For Ric, all the stories Obasama had told him, once seen as fairy tales, had come to life yesterday. Each demonstration of ability, and skill, by Naruto and Hinata had reminded him of the things Obasama had taught him. Some as childhood games, others as skills to win those games. And all of it, after Ric had obtained his commission and joined the ranks of the Rangers, and then the Black Ops community, had all evolved into deadly skills of ambush, and sudden, merciless death.

Ric glanced at his hands as they began to twitch and then started to form the signs he knew by rote, thanks to Obasama's merciless drills... he balled them up into fists to still their movement. That ball of energy in Naruto's hand had been the final hammer blow to the wall he had built to hide a side of himself that only a select few knew existed... and were still breathing. For a moment he wished he was back in Japan, and standing before his Obasama. He had too many questions... and not nearly enough answers for any of them.

Ric's long moment of reflection and inner struggle did not go unnoticed, or unnoted.

After the clapping had ceased the impact of what of what they had witnessed struck them. Even though four of the members of SG1 had seen it before, everyone was amazed at the sight of the Rasengan, and what it represented. Pure energy created without technology and... from a source previously unknown.

Jack took a step forward, speaking first. "Who else wants a closer look?" All but one raised a hand, with Sam and Jeri vying for the first peek. Rank having its privileges, Jeri let Major Carter examine the lower half first, while he went after the now motionless upper half.

Sam, mindful of the numerous splinters and the jagged nature of the hole Naruto created with his attack, contented herself visually examining the damage. After a few moments of examining the hole, she looked up at Naruto and considered what she had seen, and heard. "Naruto, was this done with your chakra alone, or was there something else involved?"

Naruto grinned. "Just chakra, but that's nothing compared to what Jiraiya's can do... when I finish it, it'll be so awesome!" Naruto said excitedly then saw their faces. "Did I forget to mention that this is only the basic jutsu?"

The response was a chorus of no's and heads shaking, save for Ric and Jeri, who were content for the moment to quietly observe, and listen.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "I was going to get around to mentioning that. Jiraiya said something about adding elemental chakra to it, but I didn't listen... I don't even know what element I am." Naruto admitted, sadly wishing he'd listened to Pervy Sage more during that trip while he was learning to create the Rasengan.

Dr Fraiser spoke up. "Hinata talked to me briefly about the concept of elemental chakra." She turned towards Hinata. "You said you're... water right?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, but I really hadn't gotten around to learning any water-based jutsu's. Kurenai-sensei offered me some scrolls to study, but I choose to focus on my Gentle Fist kata's instead."

Sam looked at the hole again, then Naruto. "So how did a ball of chakra do this?"

Naruto smiled. "Easy, the chakra is spinning super fast in all directions." He chuckled nervously. "Pervy Sage explained it to me, but I'm not very good at remembering stuff like that." He explained, forgetting to 'be formal' like Hinata had asked him to.

Daniel's eyes widened. "Pervy Sage?" Behind him, Ric quietly snorted and bit back a laugh.

Hinata crossed her arms and started tapping her foot. "Don't you mean Jiraiya-sensei, one of the two Sannin of Konoha... right, Naruto?" While she agreed that Jiraiya was a bit of a pervert, he _was_ Naruto's sensei, and deserved some measure of respect; her tone spoke volumes.

Naruto quietly gulped. "Yeah... I guess." Hinata sighed and let it drop for the moment; Janet had said that civilizing a man wasn't a short-term project.

Daniel mused out loud. "Sannin?"

Ric spoke up. "It means 3 ninjas... but it's obviously a title of respect." Ric looked thoughtful. "So, what happened to the third ninja?" Ric took the silence from Naruto and Hinata as an answer in of itself. All eyes turned to him. Jack, still standing with the group, and Jeri, kneeling next to the other half of the ruined log exchanged glances. Jeri, for the moment, kept his mouth shut. Ric noted all the stares directed at him and shrugged. "So I know a little bit about ninjas, it's no big deal... Right?"

Teal'c took in the scene, his sharp eyes picking up every detail, and nodded to himself. "Indeed."

Her eyes hidden behind sunglasses, Hinata watched Jack's friend closely. She thought, '_He knows much more than he's saying_.' Her confusion grew as she still noted no ill-intent in him... the sum of his words, and his seeming lack of surprise thus far only added to the puzzle. She was reasonably sure that he wasn't a shinobi, but given his handling of Naruto's kunai... something wasn't right. None of the other SG1 members, not even Teal'c, whom she regarded as being around Jonin level from what she'd seen, had displayed such skill with any of their shinobi weapons.

Jeri, seeing how the wind was blowing, decided to divert attention away from his former commander. He stood up and started walking towards Naruto. "I noticed, Naruto-san, that you used a... copy of yourself to... assist you in that attack. Doesn't that give a more skilled opponent time to react against it?"

Naruto winced at the question. Jack's friend had struck straight at the critical weakness of his version of the Rasengan... as pervy sage had pointed out, repeatedly. He rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... it does. But like I said, I haven't mastered it, yet." Naruto stared at the ceiling. "I've always had control issues with my chakra. I still can't do a decent Bunshin, and Kakashi-sensei keeps telling me I pour too much chakra into my jutsu's." Naruto looked at Jeri, his face filled with determination. "But I don't give up, and I always keep my promises... that's my nindo."

Jeri smiled at the earnest look on Naruto's face. '_I can work with this_.' "So you plan on mastering this attack, right?"

Naruto smiled, his determination plain for all to see. "You bet! I'm going to make it the most awesome jutsu ever!"

Daniel voiced a question that had been bugging him. "Naruto, you said that you and Hinata have an elemental affinity. Does everyone have one?" Naruto threw a glance at Hinata, she knew way more about this stuff than he did. 

Hinata fielded the question. "Most everyone does, Daniel-san. Some shinobi even have more than one, but it's also not impossible for someone to have an affinity that's so weak, that it may as well be absent." She frowned. "There's an easy way to test for it, but we don't have any of the special paper needed to do it."

Jack's smile disappeared at that piece of news. "I guess we'll have to wait for that bit of information." Hinata nodded in confirmation. Jack's smile reappeared. "Well, at least we'll get a chance to learn about chakra, and what we can do with it. I can't wait to learn how to walk on ceilings and stuff."

Ric considered the implications of Jack's spoken desire, and that he wasn't alone in that camp... a worried frown crossed his face, but he kept his thoughts to himself... for the moment.

General Hammond took that as his cue to keep things moving. "Okay people, I believe we have one more item before you all break for lunch." He turned towards Naruto. "Would you mind cleaning up the results of your... fun?"

"Hai!" Naruto saluted and summoned a dozen Shadow Clones; a few minutes later the floor was perfectly clean. Naruto looked about and noticed Hinata talking to Sam and Fraiser-sensei, he called out to her. "Okay Hinata, your turn."

Hinata ended her quiet conversation with the two women, then moved towards Ric and Jeri, stopping about 6 feet away. "Before I give my demonstration, there's something you have to see first." Hinata said calmly, despite some butterflies in her stomach. She let out a soft breath, glanced at Sam, lowered her head and removed her black, Wiley X ZAK Black Ops sunglasses, then looked up at Ric and Jeri so they could see her eyes clearly. "Naruto and I aren't from Earth. I have a special ability, that's why my eyes are different." Hinata announced, more than a little nervous.

Teal'c slightly tensed as he watched the 2 new members of the team for their reaction.

Ric was the first to move; hunching down to meet her eyes directly, he looked her over from head to toe. That done, he stood up and turned to Jeri who hadn't taken his eyes off her since she had removed her sunglasses. "So Sergeant, what do you think?"

Jeri shrugged. "Well, the eyes are kinda different, sir." He added silently. '_I wonder what they can do?_'

"Yeah, that's what I figured too." Ric scratched his chin. "Da, definitely not from Kansas, or Kiev, for that matter." '_So, is this the norm at Stargate Command? I'd always heard this place was kind of weird._'

Jeri glanced at Hinata. "Króme shútok!" The sarcasm in his voice was more than obvious.

Ric stifled a laugh, no sense in spoiling a good routine. "The glowing blue ball of energy was a bit of a giveaway too." '_And pretty impressive at that_.'

Jeri nodded in agreement. "And don't forget the kid making multiple copies of himself." '_I wonder what else they can do... besides manifesting chi out of thin air?_'

Ric snapped his fingers. "Good point." He waved his hand upward. "And then there was the walking on the ceiling bit." '_If Obasama learns about these two kids... she'll be here on the next plane_.'

Jeri nodded slowly. "Yup. I gotta admit, that was a good one." '_I'll wager Sensei wouldn't mind seeing that as well_. _I wonder if I could learn that trick?_'

Naruto grinned as he watched interplay between the two. '_Jack's friends are really weird, but very funny_.'

Several yards away, Sam leaned over to Jack and whispered. "They don't seem very shocked, or surprised for that matter." She grabbed his sleeve and pulled Jack closer. "You didn't say anything, did you?"

Jack snorted in amusement at Sam's hefty underestimation of his friends. "Sam, where are we?" Sam looked at him like he was crazy. Jack took his finger and traced 3 letters in the air. "S. G. C." He took that same finger and poked her forehead gently, then pointed at his friends.

"The tall guy over there has a master's in chemical engineering; the dumb-hick-good-old-boy next to him has a master's in geology." He poked her in the forehead again. "Just because you're smarter than any two rocket scientists put together..." he pointed at Ric and Jeri again, "...doesn't make them dummies. Even if they do wear those cute little berets."

Without looking back, Ric replied. "I heard that last part, Jack."

Hinata 'eeped' at Ric's growled-out response, her head half disappearing into her jacket. Naruto did a rapid triple-take and began laughing when Jack made to hide behind Sam... who promptly shoved him away with a friendly glare.

General Hammond successfully reduced a laugh to an amused snort and shook his head.

Dr Fraiser openly giggled, which drew an amused glance from Daniel.

Teal'c smiled and nodded to himself. '_The Tau'ri are an interesting race indeed_.'

Ric refocused his attention on Hinata, still half hiding inside her over-sized jacket. "So, kame-chan... are you a legal, or illegal alien?" Hinata blinked in confusion at the question.

Jeri shook his head and decided to push things along. "Don't be silly, sir. She's obviously not Mexican." He leaned down and stared at Hinata. "Don't mind him, missy. He's jus' pulling yer leg." He gave her a smile. "Where y'all come from tain't as important than who ya are... less'un yer a bad person, right?"

Hinata emerged from her jacket and nodded. She added in a small voice, "We're not bad people." Her unease at the odd behavior of Jack's friends vanished when Jeri gave her a wink and a warm smile of approval.

Jeri stood up, stepped back and exchanged a glance with Ric before looking back at Hinata. "Alrightly then. So, what were you going to show us?" They both began moving backwards to rejoin the group.

Hinata put her shades in her left coat pocket and fastened the flap. She took a deep breath and focused on her demonstration. "The style of my Clan is called The Gentle Fist, it is a soft style developed to take full advantage of our Byakuugan." She pointed to her eyes. "My first demonstration will be 2 of our standard kata's, a basic one, and then an advanced one." Hinata explained, then activated her Byakuugan with a whisper and dropped into her Clan's standard fighting stance.

Hinata thought. '_For the basic kata, Level 2 will do, then... a Level 5 kata should be enough for the advanced forms since that's what Neji used in the Chuunin Exams and would of seen anyway. Only Father and the Elders have mastered all 10 Levels. If Neji were here instead of me, that's what he'd do._' Hinata hid her feelings as she knew her lack of confidence is why Neji had beaten her... then smiled slightly. No one had a hint of what she could truly do, save Naruto; and, she was going to tell everything... when she was ready.

As they watched her begin, Jeri quickly noted that she was only fighting 2 imaginary opponents. That was nothing new for him, what swiftly got his full attention were several things. Firstly, the balls of her feet only swiveled a few inches by slightly raising her heels to do so, otherwise she remained in a single spot. The second thing he noticed were the key aspects of her style. Though she had declared it to be a soft style, she never did anything even remotely resembling a throw. That, he found to be odd for a soft style, but then again... it _was_ only a basic kata.

However, what truly had him puzzled about her style were the almost playful slaps of her hands on what he regarded as odd targets, even taking her small stature into account. She seemed to be striking the arms, legs, and body equally... but even in a kata you struck your opponent as you would in a real fight. Her blows seemed to have no power behind them... was that intentional? He was missing something, he could feel it... but what was the missing piece?

Another aspect of her unusual style was her hands constantly remaining in the open palm position; and, when she blocked an imaginary strike, she did so as if counter-attacking the limb itself, rather than blocking her opponent's strike. Jeri knew he was missing a critical detail, but what was it? Her movements were fast, and as fluid as water, telling him that she had exceptional natural flexibility. He began to look forward to observing the higher level kata to fill in the blanks about the style, and Hinata in particular. She didn't waste any energy, or movement; even at a basic level, it was a very efficient fighting style.

Hinata finally stopped her kata, and returned into the basic stance. She gave Naruto a small smile that he returned, and then went into the second kata at double the speed she had used for the first kata.

"Wow, she's fast... her hand speed is incredible. The Air Force's combat instructors would have trouble matching her." Sam declared, very impressed with Hinata's skill.

Naruto laughed when he heard Sam's comment. "That's nothing, she's not even trying." Naruto replied, causing everyone to look at him with a little more shock on their faces, before turning back to watch Hinata.

Sam asked Naruto quietly. "Is Hinata really that fast?"

"Hai. I've fought S-Ranked missing Nin... none of 'em can match Hinata's hand speed when she doesn't hold back like she is now. That's not even a warm up." Naruto quietly explained to Sam, his voice full of pride for her ability. He'd left out the fact she was using a special technique at the time, but that could wait. Hinata wasn't one to brag, so he was doing it for her.

_'Oh my God._' Sam thought, trying to calculate Hinata's potential hand speed. The numbers she was coming up with matched what she, Jack and Daniel had done under the influence of those gauntlets from the Tok'Ra. '_If we could even double our speed it'd give us a huge advantage against the Goa'uld._' Sam thought, making a mental note.

Jeri was studying Hinata's advanced kata with a sensei's eye. He estimated from her movements she was defending against 5, maybe 6 opponents at once, and with a level of skill and fluidity he'd only seen in combat veterans like himself and Ric. One of the other things he had noticed was that the style was based around dodging, and only hand strikes, not once had she attempted even a knee strike. '_This Gentle Fist is very impressive. It has precise, efficient movements, no wasted motion, and all done with incredible speed. I have the basic principles down, but there's something else I'm still missing... I have to see her in combat. If I'm right, I think she has a spar planned next._' Jeri thought, holding in his excitement at learning about this new fighting style.

Ric subtly glanced at his friend. Most would miss it, but he saw the hidden excitement clearly, if there was anything Jeri truly loved, it was martial arts. He knew Jeri would be talking his ear off about this later... he almost grinned. However, from the point her eyes had changed, he'd felt... uneasy. Even when she wasn't looking at him, it felt like he was being dissected... or watched by Obasama.

Hinata stopped 2 minutes after she started; she was barely breathing harder than normal, and noticed that several people had discerned it. Especially the 2 new men, they were watching her far more intently than the rest, the man called Jeri in particular. She was ignoring it for the moment, but she couldn't help but notice their chakra coils, and their chakra, was... odd. Even for her SG1 teammates, and the SGC personnel she had scanned, they were different. But that could wait for later; right now her focus was on her demonstration.

What she was fixed on now was impressing her new friends, and Naruto in particular, with how strong she truly was. A few seconds after she finished, Naruto cheered, and the others joined in a moment later.

Hinata smiled and blushed lightly. "Thank you..." She bowed to acknowledge the applause. "I'll need help for the next part of my demonstration. There are 6 baskets, each with 10 of those... racquet balls; I'd like each of you take a basket and please make a 30 foot circle around me."

Everyone nodded, then looked at the wall by the tables and saw the baskets. The members of SG1, minus Naruto, General Hammond, and Dr Fraiser, each took a basket and surrounded Hinata as requested.

"When I signal you, start throwing balls at me, and please do your best to hit me." Hinata explained, then dropped into her stance and centered herself. After a deep breath, Hinata shouted. "Begin!"

Standing with Fraiser-sensei and General Hammond, Naruto watched Hinata closely. While not worried about her getting hurt... she'd taken a far worse beating from Neji than anything those balls could possibly do; he really wanted to see what the new Hinata could do. While he did know her better than they did, and he wasn't the smartest guy around, he _did_ know about ninja skills. And not just the Academy stuff... he'd been in battles with A-Rank and S-Rank missing Nin, and that wasn't even counting his experiences before he entered the Academy; something he knew only a few could truly understand.

Naruto's excitement jumped when Hinata uttered the word begin. Using the 'clock positions' thing he learned from Jack, he noted where everyone was around her. This would be good training for him too, so he wanted to memorize it. Jack was standing at 12, Jeri was at 2, Daniel at 4, Sam at 6, Ric at 8, and Teal'c was at 10. Hinata started the demonstration facing Sam.

Ric gave Jeri a subtle signal and watched him silently unload 1 at Hinata's back; he was stunned when she twisted to her right, without even looking, and dodged it with ease. While Hinata was in mid-dodge, he signaled Jeri again, then threw 1 at her chest as Jeri did like-wise, aiming at her back again. This time she twisted about in the opposite direction and almost casually slapped Ric's ball away while avoiding Jeri's attempt to hit her. Remaining in motion, she deflected a ball from Sam, then did a fast spin and deflected what had to be a 100 mph throw from Teal'c, sending it flying back directly between Teal'c and Jack... she continued slapping and deflecting about half the balls away from her, while dodging the rest of them.

After everyone had thrown 5 or 6 balls, Jeri happened to watch the ball thrown by Sam get slapped away. His eyes widened when he finally noticed what General Hammond, Dr Fraiser and Naruto, wearing the biggest smile he'd ever seen, and had watched, since the demonstration had begun... Every ball Hinata had deflected had come from Daniel, Sam, and Ric... and had landed in an open, large blue bin, by the wall behind them!

General Hammond and Dr Fraiser were awestruck... they'd never seen anything like it in their lives. The level of skill needed to do that, completely stunned them.

Naruto grinned as he watched the balls sail into the bin. She'd gotten the idea from watching a table game called pool. He had seen it on what Jack called a 'sports channel'; he'd suggested Hinata check it out after he'd stayed up late one night. He knew this feat had been done before with thrown kunai... he'd seen it done, but he was willing to bet that no one had tried this before.

As he watched them get low on balls, his eyes widened as something caught his attention... the racquet balls they were using, and the way Hinata was deflecting them reminded him of the Rasengan. The idea forming in his mind put a huge grin on his face. '_Hey Kyuubi, I have a question..._' Naruto asked, using the link.

'**It's possible, but your chakra control isn't good enough yet. And, you need to find out what your affinity is. For your idea to work the way you want it to, wind would be the best element for that kind of jutsu. Send a message to Tsunade; she'll know how to find out your Elemental Affinity.**' Kyuubi explained.

'_Thanks._' Naruto replied politely, but casually... and ended the link.

Kyuubi smiled happily, it wasn't much, but it was progress. She easily sensed the caution, and wariness hidden in his casual query, but for her, it was a giant leap up from being treated like a monster hell bent on escaping and killing everyone he cared about. That thought killed her good mood... she had so much to make up to him. She'd almost sell her soul just to be able to cry.

When Hinata finally stood still and canceled her Byakuugan, Naruto cheered and clapped loudly, yet again, making her blush, and smile.

As everyone approached, Jeri stepped up and spoke first. "Pardon my language, but how in the Hell did you do that? I would have had trouble just dodging half those balls, and you did without even looking." Jeri asked, unable to fully hide his emotions.

"Actually, she was looking." Sam replied with a small smile.

"Pardon?" Jeri responded, confused by her statement.

Dr Fraiser spoke up. "Her Byakuugan, that's her special ability." Janet moved next to Hinata. "Hinata do you mind?" Dr Fraiser asked as moved to touch her face; Hinata nodded her consent. "Thank you. If you noticed, during the demonstration..." Dr Fraiser gently turned Hinata's head to the left so Ric and Jeri could see the right side of her head, and moved the hair away from Hinata's temple with her fingers. "The blood vessels around Hinata's eyes enlarge; this happens when she activates the special ability her eyes possess, what her people call the Byakuugan... the whiteness of her eyes is the dominant trait of her clan, and gives Hinata full 360 degree vision." Dr Fraiser explained.

"Wait a minute... you mean you can see in all directions at the same time? Even through the back of your head?" Jeri asked.

Hinata nodded after Dr Fraiser released her head. "Hai... I mean yes, when my Byakuugan is active I can. That's how I could dodge the balls thrown by all of you." Hinata explained politely. She watched as Jeri glanced at Ric; both of them had the same look in their eyes at that bit of information. And both of them got thoughtful looks on their faces, Ric especially so.

Excited by all that had just happened, Naruto added. "Tell 'em the rest Hinata!"

"Later Naruto, after we're done." Jack replied and then turned to Hinata. "You had a final demonstration planned, right?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, I'd like to ask for some, volunteers to... spar with me." Hinata asked, almost apologetically.

"I'll do it Hinata-chan! I kinda want to test myself against you." Naruto announced with a smile, both hands behind his head. "I fought Neji during the Finals a few months ago... besides, you did too in the Preliminaries, so I'm really the best test to see how much stronger you are now." Naruto added.

Hinata considered the offer for a few moments, she didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't find a fault with his idea... and if Neji couldn't hurt him with his best technique, then she couldn't either. "Okay Naruto, but all you have to do is touch me within, um... 5 minutes."

"Deal! Oh, I need to ask you something later, okay?" Naruto agreed, and Hinata nodded in reply with a smile. "Everybody back up, I'm gonna need room." Naruto announced, smiling deviously and rubbing his hands together.

"Oh boy..." Jack commented, both excited and nervous.

"Big SCJ?" Sam asked, looking at Jack. He nodded in agreement.

Ric looked at Jeri, both of them confused by Jack's acronym, he turned to Jack. "What am I missing, what's a big SCJ?"

Jack smiled, and half-replied to Ric. "Come on people, give 'em room... you'll see in just a minute... and Naruto, don't overdo it, we need to see what happens too."

Naruto pouted briefly. "Hai, I mean yes sir." Naruto grumbled as he walked to the center of the gym. "This is like being in the Academy again." Hinata giggled briefly, and moved to join him.

Once they were all off the court, and Naruto and Hinata had reached their respective positions, Sam looked at her watch. "Ready..."

Jack turned to Ric, wearing his trademark smile. "Watch Naruto."

Ric and Jeri glanced at each other, shrugged, and did as Jack asked. Considering what they'd seen so far, and how Jack was acting, something big was about to happen... obviously this SCJ Sam had mentioned.

"Go!" Sam yelled.

Half facing the audience, Naruto made the cross sign with his fingers, and announced loudly, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Ric and Jeri heard a chain of 'pops' as puffs of smoke appeared around Hinata in a 25 foot circle, after the smoke cleared, revealing Naruto... and 24 copies of him, now forming a circle about Hinata. Ric quietly remarked, "Ah, of course." He recalled Naruto's earlier use of that phrase... Fortunately, he had listened to a gut-hunch, and tightened his control over the sense of unease he felt whenever Naruto got within a few feet of him. Bit by bit, he was becoming more comfortable with Naruto's presence. His other comment was to himself. '_He increased the number of copies by a factor of 6._' Ric rubbed his chin thoughtfully. '_I wonder what his upper limit is? And, how much... power is needed to do this... technique?_'

Jeri stared intently at the scene before him. Having watched Hinata's remarkable display of technique and skill, he wanted to close the circle by watching a proper spar. While Naruto's display of pure power was truly impressive... creating material copies of one's self _did_ qualify as a legendary feat in his book, crucial details were still missing, and _that,_ bothered him to no end. He nodded in approval as Hinata took up her ready stance. Her balance, and the sense of ease she projected in the face of so many opponents spoke volumes about her.

Jeri shifted his attention to Naruto... and all of his copies, and frowned disapprovingly. The eagerness in the copies was plain to see, but there wasn't a wit of commonality in the ready positions amongst them. He wasn't sure if it was an aspect of the technique Naruto had used to make the copies, or not... But they looked more like a pack of dogs waiting to pounce on a bone rather than an organized group of attackers waiting to take on a skilled opponent. Jeri shook his head in disappointment as he foresaw the outcome of the spar.

It started with 4 of the Naruto's charging Hinata head-on. As the leading attacker leapt at her, she executed a squatting backbend, using one arm in contact with the floor to steady herself. With the arm opposite to the side he attacked from, she did a palm strike to the chest of the airborne copy as he flew over her; then using the momentum of pushing off with her floor arm she stood upright and struck a second, closer copy, in the heart-zone of his chest with her palm, before it had a chance to strike or defend... causing it to 'poof' out of existence.

Shifting her position slightly, she used her extended arm to deflect a punch and struck the third copy in the same region of its chest, converting it into a cloud of smoke as well. Then, seemingly using the cloud of smoke as a blind, she lunged through it and struck the remaining copy in the chest as well, the power of strike with the lunge added to it knocked the copy backwards, and to the floor, where it 'poofed' on impact.

Jeri took a SWAG, and deemed that she was capable of seeing through the smoke cloud... if the accuracy of her lunging attack was any indication. His estimation of the advantage her unusual eyes gave her jumped a few notches upward.

Ric watched as the little blue-haired girl pivoted at incredible speed and struck two more copies, coming at her from opposite sides, in the chest. Both went stiff as if in pain, then burst into smoke. 6 more rushed in from all sides as another jumped at her just ahead of them. He saw her briefly smile, then dodged his strike, hitting him in the back the moment he landed behind her. Then, with blinding speed, she struck the remaining copies surrounding her... moments later they all went 'poof'.

Jeri commented to Ric. "She's pretty damn quick." Openly impressed by the level of skill she was displaying. He added, "It's a pity she's not getting a proper fight." Both Jack and Sam, standing close by, shot him a glance.

Sam spoke first. "It looks pretty lively to me."

Jeri snorted dismissively and kept his eyes on the fight. "My Sensei's granddaughter could probably wup Naruto's ass, and she's only 12." He shook his head and frowned deeply as 6 more copies attempted to mob Hinata and were promptly slaughtered.

Jack winced as he watched a copy go flying from a blow to its chest. "He's strong, and fast... I wouldn't sell him short." Jack's voice didn't match the look on his face.

Jeri shot back. "Yeah, he's got that much, I'll grant you that without argument. But his technique, what little I can detect of it, apparently comes down to out-lasting his opponent... and hoping that if he throws enough punches, _one_ of them will score a decent hit." Jeri shook his head, and pointed in the direction of Naruto and Hinata's fight. "And _that_ won't get you diddly-squat against an opponent like Hinata." Nearly everyone flinched at the sound of his extended arm snapping back and assuming a guard position.

Jeri's frown deepened. "If strength alone mattered, Hinata woulda hit the floor, unconscious, 15 seconds into this fight. Strength without precision is just simple brawl'n, which is what that boy is doing out there." He hooked a thumb in Naruto's direction. Jeri shook his head in disbelief. "Well, given the fact that he ain't dead, yet... I 'spect he's got _something_ else going for him... but I sure as heck don't see what it is, least not yet."

Jeri face-palmed as the remaining copies attempted a disjointed, double envelopment of Hinata. He looked Jack and Sam dead in the eyes. "Lord help Naruto if he ever faces somebody _truly_ skilled that wants him _dead_ before the third blow is thrown." Jeri let out a deep breath. "Cause as it stands right now; he's gonna be in a world of hurt when _that_ day comes a call'n."

Daniel chimed in. "When we first met him, I saw him defeat a weird bee the size of a school bus, with a Rasengan. He's anything but weak."

Sam put in her 2 cents. "And he's _not_ stupid, he loves learning new things." Sam let out a small frown. "He just has... issues on how he learns."

Ric glanced at Jack, who responded with a weary nod. Ric turned to Jeri. "Perhaps there's more to Naruto than meets the eye, Jeri." Ric's comment elicited supportive nods from the other SG1 members. "And, perhaps you should give him... your special attention."

Jack, having sparred _once_ with Hayes, winced at that comment... he had more than a fair idea of what that might entail.

Ric continued on with that special smile of his; Sam shivered at the sight of it. "I feel confident that you can bring out the best in Naruto... one way or the other. After all, you've done it before, _and_ succeeded admirably I might add." Ric nodded to himself. "Yes, I think it's an excellent idea, don't you Jack?"

Jack said a silent prayer on Naruto's behalf. "Just don't break him doing it, okay?"

Ric waved his hand dismissively. "Perish the thought, Jack." The 'Stan' voice popped out. "Be a good chap and see to the lad, Ollie."

Jeri grinned. "Right. I'll take right proper care of the scamp, Stan."

Off to the side, General Hammond and Dr Fraiser were listening in. Janet frowned. "Are you okay with this, General? I'm not sure I like the sound of what they have in mind."

Hammond kept his face neutral. "I believe it's all for the best, Doctor Fraiser. I'm sure that Sergeant Hayes will do his professional best on Naruto's behalf." Knowing some of Naruto's back-story via the Hokage writings to him, he added silently, '_As much as he might need it, mothering him won't keep him alive, Janet. But a strong father-figure just might_.'

Janet saw the look in Hammond's eyes. She sighed and nodded. "Yes sir."

Hammond glanced at his watch and grimaced. '_Damn, I almost forgot about Gamakichi showing up... I need to get that tube to the Hokage, ASAP_.' "As much as I want to stay here, I've to get back to work." He lowered his voice. "Don't worry Janet; I'm sure it'll all work out to Naruto's betterment. Lord knows he could use a few more positive things happening in his life." He gave Dr Fraiser a nod of farewell and left the gym... quickly.

Janet watched Hammond leave and turned her attention back to the action at hand. She knew precisely what George was talking about... she had Naruto's medical summary from the Hokage. After reading it she had retreated to her office, locked the door, and had a good cry. '_I hope so too_.'

"You aren't doing that 64 Palms thing, are you Hinata?" Naruto asked, both annoyed and amused.

Still in her Gentle Fist stance, she looked at Naruto... noting where the remaining clones were, and smiled. "No I'm not Naruto, I can't do it."

Naruto's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Really? You could of fooled me." Naruto replied honestly. "I'm glad this was just a demonstration because I didn't have this much trouble with Neji and he tried to kill me." Naruto added, and scratched the back of his head with both hands. He'd meant what he said, but he wanted Hinata to know how strong she was since he did know neither of them were use to compliments.

Jack noted the pause in the spar and asked. "So, is that it?"

Hinata thought a moment, then assumed a normal stance. "Yes, that should be enough."

"Good, because I didn't want to get my butt kicked anymore." Naruto replied with a playful grin, and rubbed his chest from the memories of her hits. What he did notice was that Neji's regular hits felt more like a kunai strike, while Hinata's hits felt more like Dr Fraiser's needles, the pain was sharper and in a smaller area. Plus, Neji had only been that fast when he used that 64 Palms move on him.

Hinata giggled. "Sorry Naruto-kun."

"Just don't tell any of our friends when we get back to Konoha, okay?" Naruto asked.

Hinata agreed to keep this moment a minor secret with a smile and a nod.

Naruto let out a breath and dispelled his remaining clones. As the memories sunk in he suddenly had a full view of the demo from every side. He compared Neji's attack technique against Hinata's defense technique, and his instincts told him the result... Hinata would cut Neji into little pieces like Ayame did vegetables for ramen. Without using the Kyuubi's chakra, and really trying to kill her, he just wasn't fast enough to over-power her.

The only time he'd moved that fast was when he was first learning the Tree Climbing technique, and he'd used too much chakra and... Naruto smiled as another idea formed in his head. Could he do it on purpose and turn his weakness... into a jutsu?

"**It will work Naruto... and it's a good base to build the other possible jutsu, after you learn your Elemental Affinity.**" Kyuubi responded, following Naruto's line of thinking; his creative improvisation is what allowed him to turn an enemy's strength against them. He'd done as much with Sasuke against Zabuza to free Kakashi from that Water Prison Jutsu.

'_Thanks... Kyuubi_.' Naruto thought back, just before his stomach growled... loud and long.

Kyuubi smiled agreeably; she'd taken another, albeit very small, step towards her goal.

Hinata giggled softly, covering her mouth a moment. "I believe it's time to eat."

"Sounded like someone is hungry." Jeri commented with an amused grin.

Naruto gave a half-hearted laugh. "You said we were going to eat afterward so I only had a snack. Hinata?"

"I had a small breakfast, but I wouldn't mind a bite to eat." Hinata replied politely, then her stomach growled loudly as well. Everyone looked at Hinata as she blushed brightly in embarrassment.

Naruto fell to the floor, laughing hysterically as he rolled around, holding his stomach.

Hinata shrunk into her coat, again... her face a crimson hue.

Sam glanced at Janet and then motioned to Hinata. "Someone grab Naruto and get out, we'll meet you in the cafeteria in a few minutes." Janet said with a hard glare.

Ric saw the familiar 'do what I say or else' expressions on their faces, and knew that arguing with an angry woman is a battle you _don't_ want to win... let alone engage in. Nodding to Jeri before turning to Jack. "I might be the new guy here, but I think a strategic withdraw is called for." Ric announced, glancing at Naruto, then the door.

Jack saw the looks on the women's faces. "Agreed. Teal'c grab Naruto; Daniel watch our 6; everyone fall back to the Cafeteria."

Ric and Jeri moved to Jack's left and right as Teal'c grabbed Naruto and slung his still laughing young friend over his shoulder; Daniel gave the women a small bow before following them out.

Janet turned to Hinata after the men left. "See. It takes a while, but men can be civilized." She said with a smile.

Sam held in her laugh; her smile widened when she saw Hinata briefly grin.

===April 3, 7:30 AM, Training Area 10, Konoha===

In a better mood than usual... in spite of her sore shoulders, Ino picked her way through the trees. She giggled as she recalled yesterday's shopping expedition with a newly-cheerful Sakura... she hadn't a clue as to what had dispelled the dark cloud that had parked itself over her childhood friend, but that didn't matter now. Sakura's gentle smile was back with a vengeance; and, Ino's constant anxiety at Sakura's dark thoughts... and what might come of it had ceased to be an issue. Besides, she had gotten a stunningly beautiful new kimono, 2 very colorful yukata's, some incredibly daring underwear, and a fabulous lunch in the bargain... life was good. At least as Ino measured such things.

Entering the clearing and only seeing Choji didn't set off any warning bells... although he and Shikamaru typically arrived together. However, Choji looking up from his eternally present bag of potato chips, then looking quickly away after spotting her approaching, did. As shinobi went, he was about as readable as a '50% OFF Sale' sign at 100 yards when it came to certain matters. Determined to stay in a cheerful mood, she greeted him with a sunny voice. "Ohayou, Choji-kun." And a bit of slyness thrown in. "Where's Shika-chan hiding... did he have to run off and leave an offering to the tree-kami?"

Keeping his eyes firmly fixed on his lap, he held up 2 folded notes. "Shika's not coming. When I went by his place to come here, his mom gave me this..." He waved the notes slowly. "...and the other was pinned to a tree with a senbon by Asuma-sensei."

The twitch over her right eye was the first crack in her good mood. "Oh really?" Ino strived to keep her voice even, and light. She asked the logical follow-up question. "So why are you here?"

The hurt expression on his face was plain to see as he looked up at Ino. "Because it wouldn't be right for nobody to be here when you arrived." He briefly looked about, his face turning thoughtful. "Things haven't been the same since... that day." Ino knew instantly what he meant: the day Naruto and Hinata had been declared missing. And Sakura falling to pieces... until yesterday. "Now _all_ of us are out of mission rotation because Asuma-sensei has been given an S-Rank mission. He's busy with assignment prep right now."

Ino started with surprise; she knew about Kiba and Shino being kept busy with 'Internal Missions Only'... which was a polite way to say they were confined to Konoha. "What do you mean, all of us?" She gently ruffled Choji's hair as a silent apology.

Choji blinked in honest surprise. "You didn't know Guy-sensei's Team is IMO as well?"

Ino's slow-boiling anger vanished; surprise, shock and... interest took its place. "No. I _hadn't_ heard about that." As one of the Gossip Queens of Konoha, she felt a twinge of shame, anger, and... her curiosity began to swell, rapidly. Her eyes narrowed. '_Perhaps I need to go weapons shopping as well_.' She reset her face and gave Choji a genuine smile. "Thanks for waiting for me, Choji-kun." She put her finger-tips to her lips, then touched his forehead with them. "And, thanks for the info. Hmm... I think I need a set of shurikens... or something like that."

As she turned to leave, Choji spoke up. "Ino... do you think Shika's coming back?" She saw the sadness in his eyes. "Or is this the end of..."

Ino gave Choji a mock frown and lightly bonked him on the head. "Don't say things like that, Cho-chan. It's bad luck." She saw his mood lighten; he liked the pet name she had given him. "The Trio will be back, I'm sure of it. Anyway, I need to do some more shopping... do you want to come along?"

Choji brightened at the invitation, then frowned. "I'd like to, but Dad told me yesterday that if I had any free time, he was going to teach me a new family jutsu." His face turned thoughtful. "Actually, I'd been begging him for months to teach me a particular one... then out of the blue, he tells me he will." He shrugged. "Not that I'm going to complain, mind you."

Ino blinked as she suddenly recalled her father dropping a certain clan scroll in her lap. "No... I wouldn't either." The size of her curiosity jumped. '_Something is happening in Konoha, and I don't know a thing about it. And that... simply will not do_.' She smiled again and tousled Choji's hair. "I'll come by your family's restaurant later for a bite, I promise." She turned and headed for her gossip 'Hot Spots'... and a certain weapons shop.

As Ino was leaving the Training Ground she paused and thought out loud. ''Something major is happening... but what?" She tensed slightly when she remembered something she'd never told anyone. The reason why... it was the gossip equivalent of an S-Rank jutsu. It could get her anything she wanted; or, it could get her killed. The problem... she could only use it once, and only on a certain person. Ino sighed, centered herself, and began walking again.

===April 4, 10:00 AM, General Hammond's Office===

With minutes to spare, Hammond made it back to his office. After he settled into his chair, he unlocked a desk drawer and pulled out a black plastic tube, sealed at both ends, but much larger than one of the typical scrolls he'd been exchanging with the Hokage. He laid it on the center of his desk and wondered what her reply would be.

The only other issue was getting two certain men to go along with it.

* Flashback *

"You wanted to see me, General?" Daniel stood before Hammond's desk, holding an old and rather heavy book... as usual.

"Yes, Dr Jackson. I needed your... advice on a certain matter." Hammond motioned to an empty chair. "Please, have a seat. This shouldn't take too much time." After Daniel sat down, Hammond got straight to the point. "How difficult would it be to obtain an alliance with the Hokage?"

Daniel pondered the question for several moments and then sighed. "Actually, that would depend on the nature of the alliance... I think." He held up his hand, to forestall any reply. "As we all know from Hinata's earlier explanations, the Hokage is the supreme military commander of the Fire Nation, and the Daimyo the supreme ruler, over the Hokage, and the civilian side of the Fire Nation. Now then, if it's a simple military alliance, then the Hokage has some latitude on what she can do. However, if it's a full alliance... nation to nation, such as the Fire Nation and American, then the Daimyo _has to be_ formally approached. If the Hokage did otherwise, then it will be seen as an over-stepping of her authority, and the Daimyo, at the very _least_... could ask for her resignation." Daniel pursed his lips and frowned. "The _worse_ case is the Daimyo asks for her head, literally speaking."

Hammond's eyebrows shot up. "That bad?" Daniel nodded. "Well, we can't have that now, can we?" Daniel nodded in agreement.

They both sat quietly for a bit... then Daniel snapped his fingers. "I think I have an idea."

Hammond leaned back in his chair. "Okay, let's hear it."

Daniel smiled. "Actually, it's something Naruto said." Daniel saw the look on Hammond's face. "No, no... this actually makes sense." Daniel paused. "While we were having a conversation about the various hidden villages on his world, he mentioned that his home is called, 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves'. Then he said that we had our own hidden village here; he called Stargate Command... the village hidden under the mountain." Daniel pushed up his glasses. "So, if we frame the proposed alliance as one between one hidden village to another, then that should minimize any difficulties with the Daimyo."

Hammond chuckled. "I see. The village hidden under the mountain... Well, that's as good an analogy as any I've ever heard."

Daniel nodded with a grin. "Yes it is. And, we can set aside the fact that we're more like a city than a village." Daniel tapped the book in his lap. "At any rate, we can float a proposal to the Hokage; then if it flies, we can approach her with a true, formal alliance."

Hammond thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "I like it. Thank you, Daniel... and thank Naruto as well."

* End Flashback *

Right on time, Gamakichi appeared in a puff of smoke. "**Yo, Shogun-san. What's up?**"

Hammond picked up the black cylinder. "I got a special delivery for you."

Gamakichi eyed it warily. "**It's kinda big, ain't it?**"

Hammond grinned slyly and reached down... and then put a plate, with two _large_ burritos on it, in front of Gamakichi. "You were saying?"

Gamakichi grinned, and started to drool. "**Okay, I'm in. Gimme the black tube thingie after I'm done.**"

===10:30 AM, Mess Hall===

As the male members of SG1 entered the Mess Hall, Ric gave the large room a quick scan. '_Good, there's hardly anybody here at the moment_.' He looked at a particularly empty corner. '_Perfect. Just what the doctor ordered_.' Ric kept his face neutral as he glanced at Naruto. '_I can understand how Jack, and everybody else, may be tickled pink about learning ninja tricks, but I don't know if he, or anybody else, understands the mega-can of worms they'll be opening_.'

Keeping his tone light, Ric spoke as they all headed for the end of the short waiting line. "So, did anybody remember what's on the menu for lunch?"

Jack and Naruto shared a grin, and spoke at the same time. "Chicken-fried steak."

Jeri added, "Or cheeseburgers... and the usual sides."

Teal'c spoke up. "The macaroni and cheese is particularly good." Naruto nodded vigorously in agreement.

Jack gave Naruto a gentle noogie. "You eat more cheese than any 50 mice put together." Jack looked at Ric and Jeri and grinned. "Naruto's taken quite a liking to certain American... delicacies."

Daniel chimed in, "And they have a very good salad bar too." Naruto groaned in response.

Jeri discretely gave Naruto the once over... given some the god awful places he had been, he knew the signs of malnourishment... regardless of how well he was eating now. He turned on his 'Sarge' voice. "Veggies are important too, especially if you ever hope to get taller than a tree stump."

Naruto moaned. "Hinata already bugs me about that... _and_ makes me eat 'em too." He added a grimace.

Jack grabbed a tray and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Get use to it Naruto. Women can _never_ leave well enough alone."

After they got their trays loaded up (with Teal'c holding two trays), Ric motioned to the corner of the room he had spotted earlier. "Let's head over there..." He gave Jack a pointed look. "...it'll be a bit more... private."

Seeing the look on Ric's face, and in his eyes, Jack just nodded in response and followed Ric as he headed straight the chosen table, everyone else trailed along. After picking their seats and settling in, Jeri spoke up. "May as well dig in, the ladies will be here shortly... when we'll be doing more talk'n than eat'n." He picked up his fork. "Of course, I _never_ said that, mind you."

===10:36 AM, Mess Hall===

Easily finding her teammates, considering they were sitting in a distant, empty corner of the hall rather than their usual table. Sam took the lead with just a cup of coffee in hand, while Hinata carried a tray loaded with her usual selections. Janet had to get back to the Infirmary, to Hinata's polite protests... which managed to extract a promise from her to come back to the gym after lunch, Sam recalled with a smile. She stopped when Hinata did, then turned towards her. "What's wrong Hinata?"

Hinata sighed. "I wasn't very, lady-like, in the gym. That shouldn't of happened... I'm so embarrassed."

Sam smirked in amusement and gave Hinata a thoughtful look; she could tell that Hinata's newly-found confidence was slipping. She leaned down. "Does Naruto see you as a helpless little Princess whose stomach would never growl like that?" Sam asked softly.

"No." Hinata replied, without even thinking about it... she didn't need to. "Naruto-kun treats me like his friend, and a strong kunoichi." She replied with a measure of pride.

"That's why he laughed; because he knew it wouldn't hurt your feelings. That's what friends do." Sam explained, maintaining her soft tone.

"I'm a baka." Hinata replied quietly as she hung her head... she knew Sam was right.

"Baka?" Sam inquired.

Hinata raised her head with a small smile. "It means... idiot, basically. Sakura called Naruto that a lot, right before she'd hit him, usually because he missed something obvious. Thank you Sam." She bowed slightly.

"You know Naruto better than any of us; you just need to remember to be yourself, that's the Hinata that'll win Naruto over. He just needs to see the strong Hinata that I see. Come on, let's go join them." Sam replied with a smile.

Hinata nodded and returned Sam's smile. For a brief moment, she'd forgotten where she was. Here at SGC, she was just... Hinata, Naruto's precious friend, and a valued member of SG1. Not a Konoha Princess that had to maintain a proper image at all costs. She knew she still had some loosening up to do... if she ever wanted to be with Naruto-kun in the way she hoped for; she'd have to learn how to relax, _and_ have some fun in the process. She realized it might be just as hard to un-civilize herself, as it was to civilize Naruto.

She grinned to herself. "Hai, this will be fun."

Sam looked at Hinata with a moment of genuine surprise and then smiled. Hinata's brief emotional conflict was probably about Naruto, and her lapse in refinement in the gym. Based on what she knew, and what Hinata just said, she had a good idea what happened.

As they closed on their new location, Sam noted the new seating arrangement, instead of their usual pattern. On the right side of the table, from near to far, was Jeri and Daniel, facing them from across the table was Naruto, Teal'c, Jack and Ric. Jeri and Naruto were talking, and from the look on Naruto's face, it was about _his_ part in Hinata's demonstration. She noticed Jeri look at them, specifically Hinata, and smile. It was almost painful... assuming a silent, passive stance, but for now she'd just mostly listen. It'd give her a chance to learn about Ric and Jeri, while she got some additional answers through close observation.

"Fashionably late as usual, I see." Jack mused aloud with a grin, and subtly glanced at Hinata.

"We're worth it." Sam replied, and gently nudged Hinata, who was confused for a moment before she giggled. "Besides, your idea of fashion is a Hawaiian shirt." Sam added with a small smile.

Jeri recalled, with a roll of his eyes, the purple and pink horror that Jack wore in Somalia. "Oh I couldn't agree more Ma'am." Jeri answered with a twisted grin.

Ric saw the look on Jeri's face and started laughing. Jack did a double-take and frowned defensively as Jeri muttered in something in Arabic. Jack stared at Jeri. "Are you making fun of my favorite shirt, Sergeant Hayes?"

Ric pointed at Jack with his fork. "You mean that optical war-crime that Al-Qaida put a bounty on... sir?" The sly smile on his face spoke volumes.

Jack pouted and mumbled, "I like that shirt."

Jeri noted the confused look on Naruto's face. "Tell ya later, son."

Sam kept a straight face as she reached for her chair. '_Somalia huh? So, they do go back a way's... and damn, Jack's had that awful thing for that long..?_'

Hinata successfully smothered the urge to giggle and sat down across from Ric, Sam next to her, across from Jack. Hinata thought back to her demonstration in the gym and frowned as she recalled the spar with Naruto... and everything before that. The sum of all those parts bothered her... not in a bad way, it was just... peculiar. She focused her thoughts on the brief moment she observed Ric's chakra... the composition of his chakra was... unsettling. In a peculiar way, it reminded her of an _internal_ version of Gaara's sand. On top of all that, he seemed to possess knowledge about the shinobi life the others didn't; and she wanted to know how, and why.

Ric watched Hinata set her tray down before she took her seat, and smiled thoughtfully. The 3 cinnamon buns on her plate told him she had an obvious sweet tooth. And, from her demonstration, a high enough metabolism to handle it, _without_ the usual results. Other than a slight trace of baby fat in her face, the young woman sitting across from him had an athletic build, he could sense that much, in spite of baggy outfit. The rest of the tray's contents was mostly fruit, and a medium pile of hash browns...the 4 sausages and 3 bacon strips also declared that she wasn't a vegetarian, which did surprise him a little, as she seemed to be the type. It was yet another insight into her that he noted.

Jeri noted her food as well. It was well balanced... for someone who needed a large amount of energy via carbs and fats. He smiled at the cinnamon buns, obviously a personal preference. Jeri thought back on the display of her clan's style, and her eyes. He wasn't sure how much chi... no, chakra... he'd have to start thinking in those terms, Hinata used up giving her demonstration, but based on her lunch selections, it was a fair amount. Hinata's propensity for sweets aside, her general eating habits, it probably fitted her apparent needs. He turned back to Naruto, but kept an ear tuned in to her. He knew he'd eventually get more pieces to the puzzle that was her Gentle Fist style. And, if he was right, there was _more_ to her eyes than just 360 vision, but what that implied wasn't possible... right?

"Tell me something Naruto, you mentioned a Kakashi-sensei, and Jiraiya-sensei... no offense, but considering what you can do, for a ninja, yer fightin' style stinks on ice." Jeri kept his tone light, hoping it wouldn't upset Naruto... too much.

Naruto's smile fell away. "I know, but that's not my fault." Naruto replied, recognizing the expression on Jeri's face, and sighed. He knew from experience what questions were coming. Naruto looked at his new friends, who looked back, and figured he might as well get this over with... he'd have to eventually anyway.

He looked at Jeri. "I grew up in an orphanage and ran away when I was 5." Naruto explained, most of what he was going to say... Jack, Daniel, Sam and Teal'c already knew. "When I was 6, the Third Hokage got me an apartment, and into the Academy. I wasn't the best student..." Naruto said with an amused grin. "But from the first day, until I graduated with Hinata-chan and my other friends, when I was 12, all the teachers did everything they could to get rid of me, and keep me from graduating."

Naruto's face grew thoughtful. "Well, not all of 'em, there was somebody that treated me like everyone else... Iruka-sensei." Naruto added with a smile, but it faded as fast as it appeared. "Actually... I _didn't_ graduate like everyone else did. The final test is what we call, the basic 3, the basic jutsus everyone knows. I couldn't do one of 'em because of my chakra control problem... I have too much." Naruto added silently, '_For more than one reason_.'

That admission confused Jeri. "What'cha mean by that?"

"One of the basic 3 is an illusion... what we call a Bunshin. To do it, you have to use an exact amount of chakra, and it only takes a little to do it, that's why it's a low level jutsu." Naruto answered, almost sadly.

"Ah... that's why you can't do it..." Jeri stated, then thought a moment. "They teach it to you at the Academy because you're kids, and don't have much... chakra."

Naruto nodded. "By the time I graduated I already had more chakra than the teachers."

"So instead of a canteen of water like the other kids, you had a barrel of water to carry around." Jack said.

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah."

Hinata spoke up. "That's part of it, Jeri-san. At the Academy, they also taught us the fundamentals of molding, and chakra control. However, there _is_ a considerable gap between the clan children, and the children from civilian families." She reached for one of her buns. "I was given chakra training a year before I entered the Academy. I can assure you that my preparation... even though my father..." Her eyes went to her tray. "...originally was against my going there, put me far ahead of most of our classmates."

She intentionally omitted the fact that Naruto, along with a few of his friends, were more interested in mischief... and pranks. She let out a tiny sigh; no one in their right mind would have described Naruto as a 'model student'... that role was left to others in the class, including her.

Ric noted her body language as she spoke of her father; and, that she had issues with him was obvious. He knew that song all too well. Well, at least her father was still alive, unlike his.

Jeri nodded thoughtfully... this explained much about Naruto's odd, disjointed style.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief... Hinata didn't rat him out on his love of pranking, rather than studying. "Anyway, I failed the graduation test and was standing around after class let out when Mizuki, he was our other teacher, came up and told me there was another way to graduate... I had to steal a scroll from the Hokage Tower and learn a jutsu from it. I did it and met him in a clearing in the woods, where I found out he lied, and was using me to steal the scroll for himself. That's how I learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Then Iruka-sensei showed up, fought Mizuki, and got hurt protecting me." Naruto explained... then an almost animalistic snarl appeared on his face a moment before he suppressed it.

Jeri and Ric were surprised by what they heard, but especially the look on Naruto's face, and the look in his eyes was very brief, but they knew it all too well, that look of rage, something they had seen too many times... On the faces of children turned into soldiers, at best, and empty-eyed, soulless killers at worst. And, the way he pushed it down told them that it was just the tip of a very large mountain; and, that brief moment of anger also gave Ric that feeling in his gut again. Both of them knew now there was _much_ more to Naruto than they first suspected, especially Ric.

"I used it to beat Mizuki, then the old man showed up with his ANBU and arrested him... then Iruka gave me his hitai-ite and told me I graduated, since the Shadow Clone is just an advanced version of the Bunshin." Naruto added with some pride.

Sam had watched the faces of Ric and Jeri closely, and as discretely as possible. She noted their lack of shock and anger, and chalked it up to experience... she could readily imagine the dark, hellish places they had been sent to. She was still unsure why they were here, and why Jack had a hand in it, but for the moment she was reasonably sure they weren't here to become members of SG1.

Hinata, behind her sunglasses, also watched her new teammates. What truly surprised her were two things: the look of sadness, and anger... especially from Jeri, in their eyes as Naruto told his tale, again. The other was Ric-san's momentary twinge, yet again. But this time it was when anger leaked into Naruto's voice... that was the other thing about Ric-san that puzzled her... those brief moments when he was gripped by some unknown distress. Though he hid it very well, she had noted it occurring a few times already... she would have said something to Janet-sensei, but she left too quickly at the end of the demonstration.

Naruto's face became thoughtful. "Ano... Jeri-san, what kind of taijutsu do you know?" Naruto had watched Jeri and Ric closely from the moment he laid eyes on them; both of them walked, and stood in the same way, sorta like Lee... Always ready to fight at a moment's notice, just like his crazy sensei, Guy.

Jeri rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm... well, if'in you mean martial arts... I learnt boxing when I was kid, then after I joined the Army, I picked up Aiki-Jujutsu, studied Shaolin Kempo Karate for awhile, learned a bit of Aikido after that... that's a modern offshoot of jujutsu and then, after getting stationed in Okinawa, I became a student of Arakaki-sensei and started learning Shotokan Karate." Jeri took a sip from his cup. "There's a few other things I learned... bits and pieces of other schools and styles, and various weapons, but I've pretty much stuck with Arakaki-sensei and his dojo."

Naruto's face lit up with excitement. "Could I see all that?" He was practically bouncing in his chair. "I wanna spar with you." Hinata winced at his lapse of manners.

Jack shot up straight in his chair. "Naruto... I don't think that would be a good idea." He flash-backed through his sole, painful, spar with Jeri, again.

Teal'c spoke up. "I too would be interested in seeing a display of Sergeants Hayes' skill... and perhaps the Major as well." He nodded. "It would be good to see the level of their abilities."

Jack shot Teal'c a glance. '_Not helping_.' He noted the looks of interest and curiosity on everyone else's faces. Keeping his voice level, he spoke up. "Perhaps later on... remember what's coming next, people. And Naruto, I think it would be better if you used SCJ and sent _them_ against Jeri.

Sensing Jack's worry, she gathered her nerve and spoke. "Ano, Ric-san... Daniel has told me some stories about Japan, when did you first go there..." She added as calmly as possible. "...to meet your Obasama?" Hinata willed herself to remain motionless as Ric's eyes bored into her for several seconds; she could tell that he was having a mental debate... but once again, she could sense no malice, or anger in him... just uncertainty.

"I was brought before Obasama when I was 5, just like my 2 brothers before me." Ric replied and then added. "But unlike them, I returned to Japan... several times."

Hinata relaxed, not realizing she had tensed up, waiting for his response. '_He's not lying_.' "What part of Japan?" She asked with a smile.

Ric returned her smile. "The central portion of the main island, Honshu... Shiga Prefecture." He paused for a moment. '_Here we go_.' "Obasama lived near Koka... not that far from the Tokaido."

Daniel blinked in surprise. "Don't you mean Koga?" He thought for a moment and then added. "And did you mean the Tokaido road?"

Ric gave Daniel a faint smile. "Koga is the popular western rendering of the name; and yes to the other."

Hinata asked, "Is it pretty?"

Jeri chuckled. "If Eriko-chan is an example... I'd say so." Hinata saw a whirlwind of emotions cross Ric's face before he settled on neutral.

Ric noted the looks on everyone's faces and then turned to Hinata. "She's my cousin... one of many." Hinata noted that it was the truth, but with much left unsaid.

Jack laughed and slapped the table. "I swear, Ric. Is there any country on this planet that you _don't_ know a pretty girl in?" He opened his mouth to add to that comment, thought for moment, then shut it.

Sam snorted, and muttered, "Oh great, just what we need in SG1... a womanizer."

Naruto's sharp ears picked up on that. "Ne, ne... what's a womanizer?" He asked with his trade-mark goofy grin. His innocent question set off a round of chuckles.

Ric gave Sam a cold look that made Hinata shiver. "I am _not_ a womanizer." His face turned softer and with neutral smile he added. "They come to me, not the other way around." Hinata blinked behind her sunglasses. '_He's being truthful_.' She felt a faint blush forming on her face.

Daniel broke the mood with a snap of his fingers... he had been searching his memory since Ric's earlier statement. He blurted out, "Ah... that's _it_. Koga... and Iga. I knew I'd read about that before. By the way, what's your grandmother's family name?"

There was a long pause before Ric replied. "Obasama is the head of the Rokkaku Clan." He added. "And, if you ever come before her, I'd be _very_ delicate about bringing up the subject of Iga. She has _no_ fondness for them... whatsoever."

Hinata started in surprise. Daniel-san had told her tales he had read concerning Earth ninjas and their rivalries... some of them being full-blown blood feuds. Suddenly things started falling into place. She considered her next question and then chose a safe one to break the tension she read in Ric. "Ano, Ric-san? Is your cousin pretty as well?"

Ric gave her a knowing look, and a faint nod of thanks. "I suspect Jeri would be a better source of that info; the last time I saw her, she was all of 6 years old." Hinata watched another mix of emotions cross his face as he paused. "But yes, from what I remember... I would say she's very pretty." Hinata frowned on the inside. '_Why is he so sad_?'

Naruto leaned forward in his chair. "Ne, Jeri-san... is she pretty?" He had a mischievous look in his eye, and the tone in his voice matched it.

Jeri gave Naruto an eye-smile. "Yup. As pretty as any woman I ever laid eyes on." Jeri added silently, '_And able to get within reaching distance of me without making a sound_.'

Jack let out a naughty chuckle.

Ric cleared his throat. "Restrain yourself, Jack... she's a first cousin."

Sam saw the look on Jack's face... _and_ the look of obvious interest on Hinata's, and knew where his mind might be heading. She decided to change topics. "So Ric, is Somalia where you met Jack?"

Ric gave Sam a silent look of gratitude, and chuckled. "No... I first met Jack in Iraq." He pointed down the table. "I met Jeri in Somalia... I was still in the Rangers then, and he was with the Delta contingent sent to that... goat-rope of a mission."

Sam shifted her gaze to Jeri, who gave her a boyish smile and a nod. '_Good God... Delta Force? Now I know Jack and Hammond are up to something_.'

Naruto, sensing a story, looked at Jeri. "Ne, Jeri-san... where's so, mal...ya?" He shrank back in his chair at the look Jeri gave him.

"You _don't_ want to know, Naruto. It's a godforsaken shit-hole of a country full of sad, starving people, war-lords, bandits, murderers, religious crazies, and death." Jeri replied. "Too many good men went home in bags over that worthless place; and to no good end." Jeri took a deep breath. "No Naruto, the few good things about that place, was meeting him..." He hooked a thumb at Ric. "...who, by the way, made Captain, _and_ earned a DSC, because of his actions there, and... Sparky."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Sparky...?"

Jeri gave him a sad smile. "He was lonely, skinny, half-beaten to death, dawg." Jeri settled back in his chair. "Ran across him while returning from a recon mission... I just looked into his eyes and knew I couldn't leave him there... laying that alley."

Naruto perked up. "Oh, sorta like the Inuzuka's... they don't like people who treat dogs mean, either."

Daniel spoke up. "Yes, that's one of the major clans from their village. They apparently bond with canines, and fight alongside them." Daniel adjusted his glasses. "Naruto mentioned that they're even capable of communicating with each other."

Jeri's eyebrows shot up. "You say'n they talk to their dawgs... and their dawgs talk back to 'em?" Naruto nodded in response. Jeri shook his head and chuckled. "Now _that_ would be a sight to see."

Sam shifted in her chair. "So what happened to the dog?"

Jeri leaned forward and pushed his tray aside. "Well, we... I, took him back to our area, had the medic fix him up, and we adopted him. He hung around with us, and sometimes he'd go on patrols with me." Jeri frowned. "And then one night some AQ scum tried to ambush us... Sparky sensed something wrong and started growling... that started a big firefight. Somewhere along the way, Sparky got shot and kilt." Jeri's eyes grew hard. "We gave better than we got, and anybody stupid enough to stand their ground against us died... only the ones who lived, snuck off." Jeri took a drink of his coffee and looked at Ric. "You remember Jimmie?" Ric simply nodded in response. "Jimmie liked Sparky... so he took him off somewhere and gave him proper warrior's burial, Apache-style."

Daniel stirred. "Which tribe is he from?"

Jeri replied, "White Mountain. And I'll add, a damn good scout... and a fine young man."

Naruto sat spell-bound the entire time; not trusting his voice... it was a sad story, he thought to himself. '_I should tell Ba-chan about our new team members... I'll bet she'd love to hear about them_.'

Jack glanced at his watch and decided to bring story-time to a halt; if he had let it go, they'd all be there the rest of the afternoon. "Okay folks, we got some more business to take care of. Let's get rolling." At that, everyone picked up their trays, and slowly filed out of the mess hall.

===10:40 AM, Hokage's Office, Konoha===

The further into the ANBU report she read, the more depressed Tsunade became. Their sources inside Kusagakure stated that Iwa was engaging in 'aggressive patrolling'... she had laughed bitterly at that description; she knew better, like as not they were hunting for infiltration routes through Kusa. Worse still, Iwa was sniffing around Taki as well... though she couldn't imagine why, Taki had a solid string of successes in thwarting invaders.

She cast her eyes on the other item on her desk, a scroll from Suna... announcing the dispatching of Temari for regular meeting, but with a special package. Her instincts told her that one of the reasons was Gaara having his sister check up on his friend... Naruto. Tsunade let out a loud sigh. '_I knew things were going too smoothly_.'

Suddenly, there was a swirl of leaves and Sakura appeared... holding a small bundle of scrolls. Tsunade smiled to herself, she still had a hard time believing that a mere Genin had learned the shunshin in record time. She had been told by Kakashi that Sakura had extraordinary chakra control... but even so, it was still... "Ohayou, Sakura-kun. You're here a bit early, aren't you?"

Sakura grinned in reply and bowed. "I... we, wanted to make sure that our messages got sent as soon as possible, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade smothered a snicker; she had a fair idea for the source of Sakura's eagerness, though she wasn't sure who had first-place... Naruto, or the scrolls involving the Stargate. Or maybe both. "That's alright... just leave them with me and..." A poof of smoke cut off her reply.

"**Hey pretty lady. I got something special today**." Gamakichi announced cheerfully, and promptly deposited, with his long tongue, a large black tube on her desk. "**The Shogun said it was pretty important**."

Tsunade stared at the tube for a moment. "It's big..." She picked it up and realized it was made of a hard, dense plastic. She tilted it back and forth... something inside shifted. She looked at the capped ends and then eyed Gamakichi.

"**The Shogun said to press in, then move it... clock-wise, whatever that means**."

Tsunade grabbed both ends and pressed inward... the left-hand one moved; and rotating it as instructed, Tsunade felt something give... the cap came off rather easily. She peeked inside, then tilted the tube towards the desk... out came a few items, some rolled-up papers, tied with rubber bands. Tsunade frowned, and gave the tube a shake... a few inches of a thicker, rolled sheath of papers appeared, she pulled it out and opened it... and began reading.

Meanwhile, unprompted, Sakura had moved forward to get a closer look at what had come out of the tube. She looked at the Hokage, who was reading the thick document intently. "Ano... Hokage-sama...?"

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "Be my guest." She turned her full attention back to the document.

At random, Sakura picked up a rolled up paper, pulled off the rubber band... she experimentally stretched it, smiling at the novelty of the simple item, and accidentally launched it halfway across Tsunade's office. After removing the rest of the bands, Sakura began unrolling the papers and looking at them. At random, the first paper she picked up was a printed color picture; she instantly recognized it as the group Naruto and Hinata were now members of. Unlike the other picture she had seen, everyone was sitting around a table with trays of food in front of them.

Scanning it, she noted two new people in the picture; a handsome, younger man with silvery hair, and an older, ruggedly handsome man with copper-colored hair. Her eyes flicked back to Naruto... sitting in the center with his trademark goofy grin. '_He looks happy_.' Sakura let out a soft sigh. '_Happier than I remember him being here... most of the time_.'

Setting the picture aside, she turned her attention to the other objects on the desk. Sakura picked up a shapely black... pen, she guessed, high-lighted with gold accents, and a finely-printed colorful seal. Sakura took a closer look at it. "Ano... Tsunade-sama, what's a president?"

Tsunade looked up from her papers and chuckled. "It's their version of a Daimyo." Sakura suddenly dropped the pen. Tsunade laughed at the look on Sakura's face. "Don't worry, Sakura-kun; their leader is considerably different from ours... _and_ he has a distinct sense of humor. I seriously doubt he'd take offense at your actions." She watched Sakura breathe a sigh of relief. "As a matter of fact, there's probably a note from him amongst those papers. I've gotten a few from him, he's seems like a friendly and personable man."

She put the thick document down with a smile. "And, it seems that we have a new alliance in the offing... between us, and The Village Hidden Under the Mountain." Sakura blinked in surprise as Tsunade reached into a desk drawer, produced a bottle of sake, uncorked it and took a big swig. "And that's the best news I've gotten in a long while."

===1:00 PM, Gymnasium B ===

With Naruto standing to her right, Hinata looked at her new friends, all wearing what they called training outfits, she'd almost giggled the first time she saw them. It wasn't what she, or Naruto, had expected... but then again, they weren't shinobi so they had a different ideas about training. Naruto had laughed at first, but 'the look' had stopped him; a fun little technique she had to admit it aloud. She'd never abuse it though, it was strictly a teaching tool.

With those blue mats covering the floor, they were currently standing in a 15 foot half circle, all wearing the same outfit, green sweat pants, brownish short-sleeved shirts, and athletic shoes of various types and colors. Seeing Janet dressed like Sam made her smile slightly, but she noticed something she knew they missed. While she hadn't peeked at anyone's body, she could tell that Janet was restraining her breasts more than Sam was, meaning she wasn't a D cup, as she appeared to be.

Hinata didn't know why Janet 'cocooned' as Hotaru called it. She did it, some older kunoichi and civilian women did it, Kurenai-sensei did it too. It wasn't the binding most kunoichi with at least D cup breasts did with bandages or a custom bra. Tsunade didn't do it... but Tsunade wasn't most kunoichi. She'd have to ask Janet later, privately.

"What am I supposed to do again?" Naruto asked.

Hinata giggled softly. "I'll channel a small amount of chakra into them until they feel it, then move to the next person. When I move on, you'll leave a Shadow Clone to help them until I've done everyone."

"I can do that, but if we can do everyone at once..." Naruto said with some excitement.

Hinata sadly shook her head; it broke her heart to say this. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but you can't." Hinata politely interrupted. "They've never felt their own chakra before, and I don't know how strong their chakra coils are... if you push too much chakra into them, you could..."

"I understand." Naruto replied sadly before she could finish the sentence.

===A Moment Ago, Naruto's Mindscape===

Inside her cage, in her hybrid body, Kyuubi was pacing furiously, her mind racing. "**There has to be a way I can help Naruto, something he can do... if only he didn't have so much chakra, he could control it much...**" She said and froze mid-step as she heard their conversation. "**THAT'S IT!**" She almost screamed happily.

Kyuubi focused herself and opened the link to him. Naruto still thought she was male, as she sounded to him in her Demon body. She needed to tell him she wasn't... later, when he was alone. She had to do this to build their relationship; and, it was early enough to get it out in the open. She'd seen the result of hiding this kind of information too long.

===Real World===

Naruto looked down sadly, then a few moments later heard the Kyuubi's voice, he almost jumped, it sounded almost excited. He listened to the Kyuubi's idea, and a big foxy grin spread across his face. His head snapped up. "The problem is that I have too much chakra right?" He asked and Hinata nodded slowly in response. "Then I'll just have less chakra." He added with a devious, foxy smile.

Hinata knew that face; he only got it when he had a crazy idea, usually in battle. He'd previously displayed it a few times during his matches with Kiba, then Neji. "What's your idea?" Hinata asked, slightly cautious, but curious. In his own way, Naruto was as much a genius as anyone, in some ways, more.

"I'll make a couple hundred Shadow Clones to divide my chakra, that'll cut mine down low enough so I can control it almost as well as you do... I think, it should work. The less I have, the better my control is. Trust me, it was like this when I was learning to do the Rasengan, I wouldn't do it until I used up most of my chakra." Naruto explained.

Hinata scrunched up her face in thought for a minute. She knew him better than most, that sounded like his pattern, he always got really creative when he was truly stressed, or beaten down... it was at those moments of crisis where he truly excelled. Hinata nodded in agreement. "Okay, I'll do Sam, Daniel, Janet, and Ric. You and 2 clones do Jeri, Jack and Teal'c... and be careful, please."

Naruto nodded, then moved back a few steps and scanned the room to see where he wanted his clones.

Kyuubi asked, "**I'll limit my chakra as much as I can Naruto, just try not to draw on more.**"

'_I won't... and thanks._' Naruto replied silently, unaware of just how much that meant to his tenant.

"That should be enough." Naruto said to himself. "I'm going to help Hinata, and test an idea. If it works like I hope, I can use it to help my chakra control." He said, focused on what he wanted to do and then made the cross finger sign. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Jack watched Naruto looking around the gym, specifically the 5 feet of bare floor between the walls and mats, and that familiar smile on his face. "Oh boy... deep breath everyone!" Jack commanded as Naruto made the sign... unfortunately, Jack couldn't have anticipated the number of clones Naruto would create.

While no one hesitated to obey, the rapid series of 'pops' and the accompanying smoke masked what happened next. As the ceiling vents drew the smoke away, it revealed massed ranks of Naruto clones... and Ric convulsing on the floor, obviously in great pain.

Janet and Jack moved simultaneously... and speedily; Jack moved to pin his friend down and Janet moved closer to insure he wasn't choking.

Hinata, mastering her shock at what had happened, activated her Byakuugan on instinct, to get a better sense of what was happening to Ric. What she saw made her gasp and step backwards in shock... and amazement. Ric's chakra was a rapidly swirling, chaotic mass... she could barely discern his coils as his chakra seemingly lashed out in every possible direction... something she had seen before, with Gaara's sand. But that's where the similarity ended, as she watched Ric's chakra move, the only word she could think of was... frantic.

As much as she knew about the subject of chakra, which was considerable, given her clan's fighting style... this was unlike anything she'd read, or been told. No, except for one other circumstance, chakra and the body were unified... her fascination grew as she watched Ric's chakra began to settle down, then unexplainably, Hinata got the eerie sensation that it was... focused on her as she watched Ric being carried away by Teal'c.

Off to the side, Jeri had his hand on Naruto's shoulder, holding him in place. Both he, and Sam were giving him questioning looks, especially after Jeri had damn near ordered her to stand fast, and not to summon a medical team. Jeri looked at the expression on Naruto's face, and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "It's not your fault son; you didn't know... nobody knew." He added silently, '_Cept me, maybe_.'

Sam gave Jeri a hard look. "Why did you stop me from getting medical help, Sergeant Hayes?"

Jeri sighed and gave Sam a side-ways glance. "Cause there ain't nuthin wrong with the Major." '_At least that's what I'm hoping_.' Jeri looked over at Hinata. "Besides, I think there's somebody else here, who could use a bit o'help." Sam followed his eyes and immediately moved to Hinata's side.

Inside of Naruto, Kyuubi was in a near-panic. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on... he wasn't responding to her enquiries, but she could sense Naruto's current emotional state. Something had gone horribly wrong... her attempt at helping him had caused something, possibly bad, to happen. She reverted to her demonic form and curled into a tight ball... for the first time in ages, she felt frightened, and worried... worried that Naruto would hate her for whatever had happened.

===Men's Locker Room, Gym #1===

Meanwhile, Teal'c had carried Ric, with Jack and Janet following, into the men's locker room... after a few minutes, Ric came to his senses and sat up... sorta.

Jack kneeled in front of his friend. "You okay, Ric?"

Ric's response was a groan. "Did anybody get the number of the tank that ran me over?"

Janet frowned and bit her lip. "Major, I want you to come with me, if you can walk, to the Infirmary... immediately."

Ric sat up straight and blinked. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to respectfully refuse that order, Doctor." He unsteadily got to his feet. "There's nothing you can do, medically speaking, for me."

An angry frown formed on Janet's face. "I'll be the judge of that, Major."

Ric took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Maybe so, but answer me this question first. What could you possibly do for something that's a functional part of me... and has absolutely _nothing_ wrong with it, like this arm?" He held up his right arm and then pointed downward. "Or my legs?" The questions took Janet aback. "Ever since I was young, I've _known_ that I was different... somehow. Can I explain it? Not in any way, _you'd _understand... hell, Jack knows what I mean, and I very much doubt that even he could give you a clear sense of it."

Teal'c spoke up. "He is not lying, Dr Fraiser. I have a sense he is unlike any Tau'ri I've ever met... I cannot tell you precisely why, but I know it to be so."

Janet stared at Jack. "I suppose you're going to say the same thing?"

Jack paused before replying, giving Ric a searching look... who responded with a go-ahead nod. '_Ric looks like shit. Perhaps a little story will buy him the time he needs_.' "Dr Fraiser... Janet, I'm going to talk about something that does _not_ leave this room without Major Von Krieger's consent..." He waited for Janet's nod before continuing. "I first met Ric in Iraq, and no, I can't give the details of the mission, we were tasked with... neutralizing someone." Janet gave Jack a sour look; she knew what _that_ term meant. "To make a long story short, the target didn't want to cooperate and had about a 100+ bodyguards to reinforce that point."

Jack glanced at Ric again, who nodded his okay. "Ric was leading 2 squads from his platoon, and _was_ supposed to be the... distraction to flush the target, and it was _my_ job to bag and tag him." '_Good, the color is coming back to his face_.'

Ric shrugged. "It wasn't my fault."

Jack sighed. "No, all things considered, probably not." He directed gaze at Janet. "Well, I watched the op, from a nearby hill-top, proceed as planned until something unexpected happened."

Ric spoke up. "The target had a taste for females of a certain age group, the one he was currently 'entertaining' apparently had other plans and ran out of the main house, and straight past me and my men... with about a half-dozen of his minions in pursuit."

Jack took over telling the tale. "I saw that man..." He pointed at Ric. "...appear out of nowhere and kill all six of those men before they knew they were dead."

Janet leaned against a bank of lockers and sighed. "Okay, I'm impressed, but I don't see why I shouldn't drag the Major down to medical by his ear... if I must."

Jack chuckled. "That's only the beginning, after that happened, a nosy sentry gave the alarm and it all went into the pot." He nodded at Ric. "I watched him work his way towards the main house, killing every hostile in his path." Jack shook his head. "All I saw was him... moving like nothing I had ever seen before, and blood and body parts flying everywhere. Then his men charged forward, yelling like madmen, blowing shit up, and shooting anybody who was stupid enough to point a weapon at them."

Jack gave Ric a playful shove. "This idiot came out of that mess without a scratch. I saw him do things I'd only seen in those cheesy Hong Kong flicks... only it was the real deal." Jack started walking towards the door. "I have no idea what happened out there, but I'm willing to guess that Hinata, or Naruto, may have a clue. No Janet, there isn't anything 'wrong' with Ric... as long as there isn't any violence involved. That's what I know for certain." Jack paused. "Don't take it the wrong way, Janet, but there's two Ric's... the one you see before you, and then there's the other Ric that pops out without warning when trouble starts." Jack glanced at Ric. _'Start walking buddy, or she's going to grab your ass and drag you off to sick bay_.'

Janet frowned, and looked at Ric. "I'm still going to have to tell the General about this... incident."

Ric shrugged. "I know." He added silently. '_Time to make some choices, Ric. And to ask some more questions of Hinata_.' Ric began following Jack out... under Dr Fraiser's wary eye.

===Gym #1, several minutes earlier===

His hand still on Naruto's shoulder, Jeri looked over the mob of copies filling the gym. "That's pretty damn impressive, son. 'Bout how many are there?" '_How much chakra does this boy have?_"

Glancing at the locker room door before replying, Naruto replied. "I think there's almost 500." He looked at the door again. "Jeri-san... is Ric-san going to be okay?"

Jeri kept his eyes on Naruto. "I reckon so; he's a lot tougher than ya might think." He saw worry, and guilt, on Naruto's face. "And don't worry bout Ric being mad at ya. We know ya'll didn't mean any harm." Jeri switched his gaze to Hinata. '_So... what did you see with those eyes of your, missy?_' Without looking back, Jeri addressed Naruto. "Could ya do me a favor, Naruto?" He gave Naruto's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Naruto looked up at Jeri. "Hai, Jeri-san."

"I'd like you to move..." He gave Naruto a sly smile. "...all your... cousins, to that side of the court." Jeri pointed to the far half of the gym. "'Cept for the ones you need, of course."

Naruto chuckled at Jeri's description of his Shadow Clones and grinned. "Hai." Naruto trotted off to direct the positioning of the clones... who began moving to the far end, including the walls, and the ceiling.

Several feet away, Sam and Hinata were having a similar chat.

Sam stared at a motionless Hinata, obviously deep in thought; she had a ton of questions about what had happened, but she didn't want to break Hinata's concentration... after several moments, her curiosity got the better of her. Leaning in closely, she quietly asked. "What happened? What did you see?"

Hinata blinked in surprise and paused before replying. "I honestly don't know..." She quickly decided to omit any open references to Gaara; she saw no sense in alarming her friends. In their detailed, and open, discussions about their world, both of her and Naruto had actively skirted the subject of... jinchuriki's. She had gotten the noticeable impression from Daniel, and Sam, that they had no analogue for human weapons of that sort, let alone bijuu's.

She choose her next words very carefully. "I've seen many different types of chakra, and people's chakra coils. But Ric-san's... was unlike any internal chakra system I've ever seen, or heard of. I'd only caught a glimpse of it earlier, so I don't really have enough information to work with." Hinata looked in the direction of the locker room and resisted the urge to activate her Byakuugan... right now. "But his chakra is much more... dynamic than any of yours." Hinata frowned in thought. "Even Jeri-san's chakra is different from yours... in some ways; it's more like Teal'c's chakra."

Sam gave Hinata a puzzled look. "I don't understand. I thought chakra, as you described it, is a manifestation of somebody's life force." She gave Sergeant Hayes a glance. "And he's a Tau'ri... a human like us, not a Jaffa."

Hinata shook her head. "Gomen, I'm not explaining this very well. Jeri-san's chakra is more akin to Jack's, or yours... and the one thing you 3 have in common is that you're all fairly skilled with taijutsu; Jeri-san's chakra coils are very... defined. When you had me scan all the people here in SGC, I noticed that amongst the ones that might be capable of molding chakra, the people with higher levels of physical fitness, and the ones you told me that were skilled in taijutsu, all of them had distinctly different chakra systems." Hinata politely pointed at Jeri. "His, and Teal'c's chakra coils are the closest to anything I've seen that matches what I would judge... similar to where I come from."

Sam blinked in surprise... and then smacked herself in the forehead. She had missed the obvious correlation; physical development had as big a role... if not more so, than intellect, in chakra advancement. That, and native talent... or ability. She muttered, "I'm so stupid, I totally missed it."

Hinata blinked in surprise. "You're _not_ stupid, Sam."

Sam shook her head. "We have a phrase here, Hinata; 'too smart for your own good'. Trust me, it fits in this circumstance." Sam sighed. "Anyway, you said Ric's chakra was... dynamic. What did you mean by that?"

Sam's question put her on the spot... she had to think quickly. "Actually, I'd like to look at his chakra again before I say anything." She gave Sam a crafty smile. "I'd like your help... if possible."

Sam returned her smile. "Sure, anything."

Hinata nodded towards the door. "I'd like you to stand in front of me when they come out... I think that Ric-san will be well enough to continue training with all of you, but I want to see how his chakra behaves amongst you. I need to see more before I say anything definitive." She added to herself. '_And, I need to send a letter to Kurenai-sensei; she'll know what to do_.'

The creak of the locker room door got everyone's attention... Sam quickly stepped in front of Hinata to shield her. Hinata quietly activated her Byakuugan and watched Jack, Ric, Janet-sensei, and Teal'c reenter the gym.

Hinata smiled as she instantly recognized Jack's... cheery chakra signature. Then she held her breath as Ric entered, his chakra wasn't as... lively as before, but she got the distinct impression of... wariness. She silently gasped as she watched it promptly focus... the best word she could think of, it's attention, on Naruto, and then switched its focus to the legion of Naruto clones clustered at the end of the gym. And, she noted with interest, that Ric's head moved _after_ his chakra changed its direction of focus. '_It's acting independently_.' Her excitement and curiosity grew. '_Why is his chakra so focused on Naruto?_'

Hinata deactivated her Byakuugan when she heard Jack clapping his hands. "Okay folks, everything's fine. Let's get this show on the road." Hinata stepped out from behind Sam and smiled. Jack pointed at her. "Aha, there she is... come on Hinata, tell us what we need to do next."

Hinata smiled in reply and noted the looks on the various faces. Ric, neutral... but guarded; Janet-sensei, frowning, and casting frequent looks in Ric's direction. And Teal'c... plain-faced, but more openly thoughtful than usual. "Ano... Ric-san, are you okay now?"

Ric nodded. "I'll live... the doctor's opinion notwithstanding." He gave Dr Fraiser a side-ways glance and twisted smile. Hinata noticed that Janet-sensei's frown remained firmly fixed on her face. "However, I'd like to bow out of this training session." Ric added with a chuckle. "I think I'll wait awhile before getting in touch with my inner Ric."

Ric's jape at himself gave Hinata a sudden flash of insight... she recalled his chakra's independent activity. '_That may be precisely what's wrong with you, Ric_.' She asked, "Are you sure?"

Ric shrugged casually. "No... not entirely. But perhaps later, okay?" Hinata took that as an invitation... a part of her wanted very much to get a better sense of his odd chakra.

Hinata nodded in agreement, and then motioned with her arm. "Would everyone form an arc in front of me, please, then sit and get comfortable. We'll proceed from there." After everyone finally got situated, only Hinata, Naruto and the 2 clones were left standing. Hinata positioned herself, sitting before Sam, on the center left of the half circle, Naruto to her right in front of Jeri, then the clones took their places. She extended her arms forward. "Please take my hands." Sam did as asked, Naruto and Jeri matched her a moment later.

"Ready Naruto?" Hinata asked, looking at Naruto. He nodded, smiling. "Just use a little bit of chakra... just like pouring water into a small cup. I'll watch and tell you how you're doing."

"Thanks Hinata." Naruto replied.

"I'll start." Hinata announced, and began pushing a small amount of chakra into Sam, her Byakuugan active, allowing her to track its progress. Hinata noted with interest that Sam's was a slightly darker shade of blue than hers.

Her eyes closed, Sam was focusing as hard as she could while trying to stay relaxed, while attempting to sense any changes in her body. She'd meditated before, and done yoga; she thought she was prepared... but she wasn't. Trying to feel your body's energy was harder than she had imagined. Sam thought. '_Come on Sam you can do this... Hinata said it's a feeling, don't force it, relax my mind and body, this is like those movies... I need to look inward._'

Hinata, using her sight's special ability, divided her attention between Sam and her efforts, and Jeri with Naruto... she frowned inwardly as she noted the difference between the two of them. While both of them were entering into a meditative state, of the two of them, Jeri was much more relaxed... and Sam was trying _too_ hard.

Hinata decided to try a new approach and let go of Sam's hands. "I'm going to try something different." She reassured Sam, then stood up and re-positioned herself behind Sam, placing both her hands on Sam's back. She positioned her finger-tips atop Sam's spinal chakra flow line, her left hand at the base, the right at the top. "Try to relax, Sam." Hinata added. "You're still too tense... and you're trying too hard."

Hinata began again to gently push her chakra into Sam. She spoke softly, "Just imagine floating in a stream of water, just drifting along... letting the current take you were it will." Hinata lightly pressed on Sam's spine. "Just breathe deeply, and float along... drift with the natural flow of all that is." Hinata smiled as this new approach seemed to be getting better results; her smile grew as she noted Sam's chakra beginning to pulse... in time to her heart-beat.

Hinata was distracted by an audible gasp to her left; she directed her attention towards Jeri and Naruto. She bit back her alarm as she noted Naruto pushing a bit more chakra into Jeri than she would have thought wise... but it seemed to be working. She watched with fascination as Jeri's chakra began to stir... his pale, yellow chakra began to slowly flow down his arms... and towards Naruto's orange-tinged chakra flooding Jeri's hands.

===4:15 PM, Gym #1===

It had taken less time than Hinata thought... she had half-expected to spend another day on the task at hand, but in the end, all but Ric had been 'awakened' to their chakra. And it wasn't as boring as one might imagine. To Sam's annoyance, she had been the second-longest one to activate... especially after Jack did a little victory jig in front of Sam.

Naruto's own approach to the process had awoken Jeri... and sent him flying backwards with a yelp when Jeri's chakra finally surged into his hands. Naruto swore up and down that a spark had leapt from Jeri's hands. Then the Naruto clone awoke Teal'c's bright red chakra... and with far gentler results. By that time the other Naruto clone had moved on to Jack, his success rate surprising Hinata greatly. Hinata's session with Daniel's pale blue chakra had taken awhile, but not nearly as long as Janet's. Her dark green chakra had been slow to rouse, but once the connection had been made, Janet immediately began to work on increasing her focus... with some success.

As they all stood, gathered into a loose circle, a beaming Jack asked, "So, how about an early dinner to celebrate?"

In spite of her good mood, Janet's face was firmly set. "No." She pointed with her finger. "You, me, and Major Von Krieger... Hammond's office. Now." She shut down Jack's response with a glare.

Hinata took a step forward. "I would like to come as well, Janet-sensei." Naruto had a small smile on his face; Hinata's tone was firmer than he could ever recall.

Jeri started to move forward as well, but froze when he saw Ric shake his head no, and gestured 'stand fast'. Jeri audibly exhaled, and turned to face Naruto. "How about that spar, Naruto? We might as well pass the time havin' a little fun."

Jack's eyes widened. "Remember Naruto, 5 clones. And _no_ one-on-one with Jeri." Naruto frowned, and nodded slowly in agreement.

Jeri smiled amiably. "Come on, Colonel... be a sport, let him use 10 clones." Jack shook his head tiredly, and waved 'go ahead'.

Ric turned and started walking for the exit; he announced with a light tone. "Shall we?"

===4:45 PM, General Hammond's Office===

General Hammond leaned back in his chair, attempting to absorb Dr Fraiser's report, and Jack's comments... both Hinata and Von Krieger had chosen to remain silent during the back-and-forth between Janet and Jack.

Without prompting, Hinata stepped forward and bowed to Hammond. "May I speak?"

Hammond tamped down a smile. "Of course, Hinata-san. There's no need to be so formal."

Hinata bowed less deeply, a second time. "Fraiser-sensei's concerns aside, I believe this is an issue more alike to my world than yours." Hammond leaned forward in his chair, his interest rising. Hinata continued, "Ric-san's chakra is anything _but_ normal... I witnessed his chakra acting independently of his physical body. I can assure you that this is _not_ typical in a normal chakra system."

Ric remained silent, taking in Hinata's comments and observations. '_This explains a number of things, especially Obasama's eagerness to keep me in Japan_.'

Hammond frowned in thought for several moments. "If I recall correctly, you had stated that chakra and life force were one and the same." Hinata nodded in agreement. "So... how is that possible? Independent activity implies that there's something, or someone else, inside the Major... besides him."

Hinata silently thanked her shinobi training as she kept a straight face... Hammond had just given the textbook description of a jinchuriki. "I can't disagree with that point, but what I saw was his chakra acting... on his behalf." Hinata took a deep breath and decided to take a chance... she had no idea what would happen next. "There is one _other_ possibility, but I need to... feel his chakra to know for certain."

Ric broke his silence. "You don't need to do this, Hinata-san." Hinata saw uncertainty, and worry in his eyes.

"With all due respect, Ric-san, I believe I must." Hinata replied. "If I'm right, _all_ of your difficulties stem from the disconnect between you, and your chakra." Hinata paused in thought. "No Ric-san, as it stands right now, you are... incomplete."

Ric closed his eyes and stood silently for a minute or so, then looked at Hinata. "What must I do?"

Hinata pursed her lips and frowned in thought; she decided to repeat the technique she used on Sam. "Please sit, and make yourself comfortable. Once you're ready, I'll attempt to push some of my chakra into you... and then we'll take it from there." Hinata suppressed her nervousness; she wasn't entirely sure how his chakra would react to her. '_I have to trust my judgment, and trust that Ric's chakra will sense that I mean him no harm_.'

Equally nervous, Jack willed himself to smile. "Go for it." '_God, I hope this turns out okay_.' And he wasn't the only one thinking along those lines.

At that, Ric pulled off his gym shoes, and sat on the floor. Hinata noted with a smile that he performed a perfect seiza position. She thought. _'Why am I not surprised... his Obasama is a very good Sensei_.' She watched as he placed his hands in his lap, closed his eyes, and began slow, deep breaths.

Hinata whispered, "Byakuugan" and readied herself for what might come next. Given what had happened thus far, Hinata wasn't shocked as she noted Ric's chakra was... seemingly aware of her as she stood behind him. Content that it wasn't agitated, or hostile, Hinata also sat in seiza-style behind Ric and slowly moved her hands towards his spinal chakra-line. She froze for moment as she watched the amorphous, deep red mass of chakra shift away from her approaching hands. After it remained still for a few moments, Hinata gingerly set her finger-tips in the same spots as before with Sam, and began slowly pushing her chakra into Ric.

After her chakra had penetrated a couple of inches into Ric, Hinata watched as his chakra slowly moved towards hers and began to intermingle... without any words, she sensed curiosity, and wariness. Hinata's response was to empty her mind of any feelings of fear, or anxiety.

General Hammond, Jack, and Janet watched silently as Hinata and Ric's breathing began to synchronize; both of them sat motionless for several minutes until, without warning, Ric's body stiffened... suddenly his eyes shot open. Janet and Jack, both of them facing Ric, took an involuntary step backwards.

Jack's reaction was simple and straight-forward; he whispered, "Holy shit."

Janet thought, '_Damn... I wish I had a video camera... his eyes..._' Then she shifted her gaze to Hinata. Wide-eyed, she uttered, "What the hell...?"

General Hammond, seeing the looks on his subordinates faces, he got out of his chair and moved to Von Krieger's front with surprising speed for someone of his bulk. He immediately saw two things: Hinata's eyes were no longer a lavender-tinged white, they were a shining, silvery hue instead; and Von Krieger's eyes... the smoky-gray color of his irises was... moving, like an angry storm-cloud. He glanced at Janet. "Doctor..." The tone in his voice said much.

Keeping her attention on the pair sitting before her, Janet replied, "I wish to hell I knew." Janet watched Hinata take a deep breath and remove her hands from Ric's back; then she saw Hinata's eyes return to their normal appearance as she deactivated her Byakuugan. Janet shifted her attention back to Von Krieger; the stiffness in his body had lessened... and the seeming movement in his irises had ceased.

Hammond spoke first. "Okay, what the hell was that?" Both Janet and Jack simply shrugged in response.

Hinata replied. "Ric-san and his chakra are now... one."

Janet commented, "I... we, kind of guessed _that_. Hinata... what happened to your eyes? Both of your eyes for that matter."

Hinata blinked in surprise. "I don't understand what you mean."

Ric's eyebrows went up. "Ditto. Care to explain?"

Jack snorted. "The silvery, glowing eyes was a bit out of the norm, Hinata." Then he looked at Ric. "And the freaky bit with your eyes was something else, Ric."

Ric gave Jack a look of exasperation in response. '_That wasn't very helpful. I guess I'll have to ask Fraiser later on_.'

Hinata reached up and touched her face. She thought, '_Could it be an effect of the gem?_" She replied, "I'm not sure." Jack's observation about Ric's eyes added to her hunch about him... but that implied something she hadn't considered possible.

Then she remembered something she had read in her clan's scrolls concerning the Six Sages, and how it might tie in to her world's Stargate. Hinata did her best to mask her growing excitement.

Ric quickly sprang to his feet and turned about. He gave the still sitting Hinata a bow. "Thank you, Hinata-dono. I will remember what you've done for me this day, always." She noted the look in his eyes and returned the bow.

Jack took a couple of steps forward and eyed his friend closely. "You okay buddy?"

Ric gave Jack a quirky smile. "Never better. As a matter of fact, better than ever."

Hammond glanced at Dr Fraiser... then looked at Ric and Hinata, who was standing up. He slowly shook his head in disbelief. '_You'd think I'd be use to these sorts of things... but I'm not_.'

Janet spoke up. "I'd like to run some tests..." She was beginning to wonder about Von Krieger's... condition; she began, in her head, assembling the battery of tests she was going run on him. Then a flash of insight sent a shiver up her spine... now she had a potential subject, way outside the bell-curve, to compare against the encrypted database she was building on Naruto, and Hinata. Now if she only find someone she could _completely_ trust to do the DNA analysis.

Hinata replied with a polite, but commanding tone, "I'm hungry." Her inner Hinata added, '_Cinnamon buns, NOW_.'

Ric added, "Me too. _And_, I'd like a private word with Hinata-dono before the good Doctor starts poking and prodding... us."

Thrilled on the inside, Janet gave them a sour face. "You're not escaping a med-evaluation, mister." She switched her attention to Hinata. "And, I'm going to want a written opinion from you as well." Janet paused in thought. "By the way, you said there was another possibility as to Ric's... condition."

Hinata took a deep breath and gave Janet a wary look. "I did. However, I'd rather consult with my Sensei, and the Hokage before saying anything further."

Dr Fraiser nodded and spread her hands in resignation. "Alright, I'm honest enough to admit that some additional consultation _might_ be in order." She looked at Hammond. "Okay, I'm done with them... for the moment."

General Hammond rubbed his chin. '_I had wanted to talk to Von Krieger and Hayes about the proposal, but I'd better let things settle down a bit before I spring it on them_.' He smiled to himself. '_And, perhaps it would be better to wait until after they come back from the 3-day pass I've authorized for them_.' "Fine by me. We'll consider the matter closed for the moment, but I'll want that medical report as soon as you've finished it." '_I need to know what I'm dealing with here... and, it'll be interesting to see what kind of response I get from Tsunade after Hinata's letter reaches her_.'

Ric turned to Jack. "I consider it a favor if you would swing by the gym and let everyone know everything's okay."

Jack smiled, then gave Ric a quizzical look. "Do you think they're still there?"

Ric laughed, and playfully poked Jack in the stomach. "Care to make a bet on how many Naruto clones Jeri's stomped by now?"

Jack went wide-eyed for a second, then chuckled. "Not for all the whiskey in Ireland."

===Gym #1===

Naruto groaned and rubbed his stomach... the memories of the latest group of clones hit him. In spite of the phantom pains still making him twitch, Naruto hadn't been this excited since the Chuunin Exams. While he still thought Kakashi-sensei was one of the best fighters he had even seen... Jeri-san was as close to Guy-san as anyone he had seen here at SGC. Naruto had lost track of the different styles he had used mowing his way through his Shadow Clones.

Teal'c had a rare smile on his face. '_Perhaps I've found someone I can properly spar with_.'

Daniel mused out loud. "I think Sergeant Hayes has discovered how to channel his chakra into his attacks."

Sam gave Daniel a 'no shit' look. "Oh, what was your first clue?"

Oblivious to the tone in Sam's voice, he replied, "When he started punching through Naruto's clones and hitting the ones behind them."

Sam winced at that observation; she long since given up the idea of going toe-to-toe with Hayes. She knew via her instructors that a martial artist's goal was to focus as much of their chi into their attacks as possible... she wondered how many bricks Hayes had been capable of breaking _before_ Hinata awakened his chakra. Sam silently consoled herself. '_Don't feel bad Sam, he's probably got 10 years, at least, of training on you_.'

Sam sighed with relief as she noted that Naruto had halted the wave attacks of his clones, and was standing up... rubbing various spots on his body. She remembered that the clones passed on their memory, and sensations, back to Naruto after they dispelled; Sam grimaced at the implications... all of the attacks Jeri had done were down-right brutal, and frightfully precise. She watched Sergeant Hayes, bare-chested and covered in sweat, return to his beginning stance and loudly exhale.

Naruto jumped up, and jogged towards Jeri, grinning ear-to-ear. "That was AWESOME. Will you... ITAI"

With a twinkle in his eye, and a stern face, Jeri bonked Naruto on the head. "Is that the way you ask somebody to be your Sensei?"

Chastened, Naruto paused, then bowed in response. "Will you be my Sensei, Jeri-san?"

Jeri chuckled and rubbed Naruto's head affectionately. "Hai, Naruto-kohai."

===Somewhere between Hammond's office, and the Mess Hall===

Ric glanced at Hinata. "So, are we alone around here?"

Hinata briefly activated her Byakuugan, then nodded in reply. "There's nobody about for at least 70 yards."

Ric leaned against a near-by wall. "Good. I take it you have some questions for me... 'cause I know I have one's for you." For a moment, Ric-san's bluntness took her off-guard... this was one aspect of the new culture she found herself in that she hadn't fully adapted to. Apparently, Ric read her face... he smiled and nodded his head. "Gomen, I shouldn't be so forward with a lady of quality." Ric added a chuckle. "At any rate, you go first."

Hinata stopped her hand from covering her smile; his humorous comment had reminded her that she had to set the 'hime' part of herself aside. "Thank you..." Hinata decided to be more forthright. "... Ric-san, are you a shinobi?"

Ric smiled and shook his head. "Nope... not as you understand the term." He could see his answer confused her. "Let's just say that Obasama did her very best to get me into that line of work." Ric sighed, and Hinata sensed a moment of sadness. "In fact, she tried too hard... which is why I haven't visited her in over 15 years."

Her curiosity aroused, Hinata ventured a (to her) possibly impolite question. "Did she cause you harm... or cast you out of the clan?" For Hinata, she could think of no worse fate than the latter.

Ric laughed, and then his eyes grew sadder. "No, she put me in a position of hurting a friend. You could say I duplicated my late father's act... I walked away from the clan." Ric saw the shock on her face; he gave her a reassuring smile. "No, in the end, it wasn't as dire as exile. Even so, I can still see her tear-stained face, and hear her weeping as I walked down the long stairs, away from the mansion." Ric sighed. "It all went wrong, and it took me a long time to get past the anger."

Hinata pushed down the sadness growing inside her; she could sense the conflict within Ric, and his lingering... confusion. "Who did your Obasama force you to give up seeing?"

Ric blinked in surprise, and let out a bitter laugh. "You misunderstand, Hinata-dono. Obasama attempted to strong-arm me into a betrothal... with one of my dearest friends."

Hinata was utterly confused. From her point of view, she couldn't imagine a better fate for herself... for a brief moment, she imagined herself and Naruto... she shook her head to clear it. "Ano... Ric-san, I don't understand, if she was a good friend and you liked each other very much... I couldn't imagine a better match."

Ric raised his eyebrows and started to reply... then shook his head. "Gomen, Hinata-dono... I omitted some key details. I was 15 at the time."

Hinata smiled. "That's not so bad, where I come from, that's a marriageable enough age."

Ric looked thoughtful for a moment. "No, I suppose that wouldn't be an issue for you. However, the friend in question was all of 6 years old."

Hinata's eyes grew wide. "Oh. I suppose that is a bit young." Then, after a moment's thought, she added, "But, if you're the clan heir, arranging an early match isn't _that_ unusual. In fact, it's almost expected." She added silently, '_Especially if the nature of your chakra is what I suspect it is_.'

Ric's eyes narrowed. "Why would you think I'm the heir?"

Hinata replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Well, if your father was the eldest son... and you are the one chosen by the head of the clan, technically... you _are_ the heir." She added, "Your father was the eldest, correct?"

Ric frowned and then thumped his head against the wall. Half to himself, he said, "But I don't want to be the heir of a shinobi clan."

Hinata took his response to her query as a yes. She sighed, in one sense, she could sympathize with Ric's feelings, but on the other hand, she understood all too well the burden of blood, and duty. However, she did suspect that Ric's Obasama could have managed it all a little bit better.

She decided to risk one last question. "Ric-san, does your clan have any special jutsus?"

Ric gave her a penetrating look... and was silent for several moments. "Why would you think that?"

In spite of Ric's gaze, Hinata forged ahead. "I saw your hands in the gym, Ric-san. After Naruto's display of the Rasengan, and your other moments of... discomfort, I watched your hands began to form signs. I didn't recognize them, but I know such things when I see them." She gave Ric a sympathetic look. "Please don't worry; I fully understand that you might be reluctant to discuss such matters. The penalties for betrayal of my clan's secrets are _very_ harsh."

Ric stood away from the wall and closed with her; he leaned down and stared at her eyes. "Yes, I would imagine so... I don't know what your eyes are fully capable of doing, but I suspect it's far more than Dr Fraiser knows... or understands." Ric took a step backwards. "In that sense, meeting you and Naruto has been a comfort for me."

Hinata gave Ric a puzzled smile. "I'm glad for you, but I don't understand."

Ric cocked his head in thought. "We're alike, but not alike... I suspect your training began at an early age; and, I imagine that you knew from the start the importance of your lessons." Ric sensed her subtly flinch. "It was harsh, wasn't it?" Hinata closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

He didn't know why... but he could sense tears waiting to burst out of Hinata. Ric continued, "As for myself, it all seemed to be little more than childhood games... games that I became _very_ good at. However, when it came to weapons training, Obasama was very unforgiving..." Ric sighed. "... though I know _now_ why... and I would thank her for that. Everything I was taught focused on winning those games she taught me. In the end, though, I suspect yours was the better route."

Hinata shook her head. "I'm not sure I agree with that, Ric-san."

Ric replied, "Perhaps. But consider this; you knew from the very beginning, the path set before you... I did _not_. You come from a wholly different world. Everything that you are is normal, and to certain extent, commonly understood." Ric waved his arm about. "Here, in this world, everything that I know is a dark and dangerous secret." He leaned towards Hinata. "Outside of the clan, there's been _no one_... not even my dearest and closest friends, that I could talk to. _No one_ to understand the things I know... things that _defy_ reality here, but are a _given_ where you come from." Ric sighed. "And things that I promised to never talk openly about... _ever_."

Hinata finally sensed the lonely and heavy burden, which had been placed on Ric. "It's been hard, hasn't it?" Ric nodded in reply. "I won't ask you to betray your clan secrets, but consider that it may be time to share that burden. I've told Fraiser-sensei things that would get me sealed, and banished from my clan for revealing them. Everyone here has treated me with respect, and made an honest effort to earn my trust."

Hinata paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "I suspect it was bad enough that you were... disunited... with your chakra. I can't even begin to imagine how much you suffered because of that, but _don't_ forego the chance to trust others, and to share your burden."

Ric nodded. "I'll think about it. Just understand that once I tell you, or anyone for that matter, about what I know... there's _no_ turning back. The jutsus of Obasama's clan are stranger than you know..." Ric paused and gave Hinata a rueful smile. "...scratch that, you and Naruto probably would know, but it's still no small thing."

More curious than before, Hinata took a step towards Ric. "By the way, weren't you going to ask me questions?"

Ric chuckled. "Yes, but they can wait. Besides, you've already told me enough already." Ric smiled at the confused look on Hinata's face. "Obasama once told me that if you listen carefully to people's words, and their faces, they will tell you more than they ever say out loud. Besides, I'm hungry." As Hinata started to speak, her stomach growled... once again.

In spite of herself, Hinata blushed in embarrassment. Ric reached out and poked her in the stomach. "It appears that I'm not the only one with a demanding chakra." Hinata's head peeked out from her over-sized jacket, her blush still in place. "Come on Genbu-chan, let's go get some dinner."

===April 5, 9:45 AM, FSB HQ, Moscow, Russian Federation===

Mayór Zelynski fingered the dark red-colored file folder nervously as he stood before the private entrance to Generál-Leytenánt Lebed's office. He had only read the summary, but that had been enough... he knew the contents would put him in a bad mood. Although he'd never say it out loud, he had been privately pleased when Irina's American lover had departed Moscow, not that he was jealous or anything... his 2 current mistresses were more than enough to handle.

No, his opinion on that matter was concern for Irina, and his boss. As powerful, and as influential as the Generál was, even he had enemies that lusted after his Director's chair. Irina's open affection for Von Krieger had made him quite nervous; in the FSB, watching one's back was a virtue... _and_ a survival trait. He had hoped that after the exit of the silver-haired pindos, Irina would forget about him and move on... no such luck. At least Razin, the General's feisty, old Cossack body-guard was out on an errand... he actually liked Von Krieger, and adored Irina like a daughter; he'd be even less pleased with the contents of the folder he was holding. Taking a deep breath, he knocked and then entered.

x

End Chapter 8

x

**Author's Note**: I want to give a couple comments/shout-outs.

1) I want to congratulate, and thank, 'Siegfried Knighthawk' for being the 200th Story Alert.

2) sterata - Thanks, and am way ahead of you.

3) Deathmvp - Rasengan and other ninja coolness, is chap 8, and I agree about the 'trapped' issue. The 'how' on chakra will be figured out eventually. As to 'Earth-style' chakra weapons... I can only say that it's possible. The gates issue is worked out, and is coming, just be patient.

Editor's Note: I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out... it's entirely my fault. Life can do that to you; on the plus side, I started a great co-op job. The down-side, I've got a bear of a class I'm taking now... free time for editing is going to be a tad scarce for awhile. The chapters won't be coming out at a furious pace, but that's because the quality of writing, and giving you a proper story comes _first_.

BTW, thanks to all the new reviewers (and hopefully new readers as well) for your kind comments. And... here's a few replies from me:

Firstly, a _major shout-out_ to d00mxle... the very **first** reader to put me on 'author alert'... even though I've yet to pen my first (solo) fanfic. Trust me, when the time comes, I won't let you down... this fic is a warm-up for me, and a good test of my writing skills, both plain vanilla, _and_ lemony.

AND, thanks to all the visitors to my homepage, from the USA and all the other nations on planet Earth. I'm looking forward to the reviews for this latest chapter, I put some serious effort into it (as did the author... he _is_ driving the bus after all).

4] narutorasatard - Thank you, it makes _all_ the long hours of work, and careful thought worthwhile.

5] Major Simi - Danke sehr...

6] Nightwing 509 - Thanks, and you have no idea... Ric's Obasama... never mind, that would be telling.

7] Mordalfus Grea - Wait for it...


	9. Ninja Mail Call

NinjaGate

Ninja Mail Call

By: MikeJV37

x

===Friday, April 4, 5:34 PM, Earth, SGC, Mess Hall===

"I need to talk to you in my room after dinner... it's kinda important." Naruto whispered to Jack.

Jack replied quietly, "Sure, I'll come by around 6:30, I wanna get cleaned up first."

===6:02 PM, Hinata's Room===

Hinata was stripping to take a quick shower, casually thinking about the day, when she glanced at the picture of her mother... part of her talk with Ric in the hallway ran through her mind. She froze a moment, then dropped her pants and fell to the floor on her butt, her eyes lightly tearing up.

"I'm a bad sister... I didn't forget about you Hanabi-chan. I am going to help you like Naruto-kun helped me... but what can I do from here? I don't think Father will give her a message from me." Hinata mused sadly. She'd been suppressing her memories and emotions about her, so-called family life, even more here than she had in Konoha.

"I can't ask Tsunade-sama to get involved, even if Father and the Elders are abusing her like they did me, Hanabi won't say anything. And Kurenai-sensei doesn't have enough influence within the Clan to do anything for her... there has to be someone that can help me... but who?" Hinata sadly mused aloud.

Hinata sat there for about a minute before pushing those thoughts aside. Her only option was Naruto, but she knew how he'd react, there was nothing he wouldn't do to help his precious people. She also knew that, at the moment, she was number 1 on that list, and they weren't even dating. Naruto would take on the entire Hyuuga Clan just to help her. "I need to find a way to help Hanabi... I just hope she wants my help." Hinata added, then stood.

===6:29 PM, Naruto's Room===

Standing by his bed, Naruto waited for Jack to shut the door, then took a breath and let it out. "Jack... are there cameras in our rooms? I've seen them around, and a few places in Konoha have them as well." Naruto said calmly but firmly, and glanced at the far upper corner of the back wall where a vent screen was.

Jack swallowed nervously, but looking as calm as always. He scanned Naruto for any signs of anger, and based on what he knew, was glad to not find any. Jack thought, '_This is it._' "Yes, but only for security in case something happens. You have my promise that you, and especially Hinata, are not being watched doing everything. And no one is spying on Hinata." Jack replied sincerely.

"You promise that no one is being pervy with Hinata? Is anyone watching her change clothes or... do girl stuff?" Naruto asked, and blushed a little. Then his face filled with anger. "Because if they are, I'll get really mad... that demonstration I did was just a little of what I can do." Naruto added in an eerily calm voice.

This was a side of Naruto Jack hadn't seen yet, but even if he didn't know everything about him, Jack recognized the look in Naruto's eyes; he was telling the truth, and he was probably holding back enough power to destroy the mountain sheltering SGC. Especially if it was related to the energy field that had surrounded him the very first day in the Infirmary. Jack knew 2 absolutes concerning Naruto... he never broke a promise, and he was very protective of his friends, almost to the point of being a zealot.

Jack had fought people like that; you had 2 options, you kill them, or you die. Talking was pointless, and they didn't give a damn about their own safety. Jack knelt down to look Naruto in the eye. "Naruto, I promise you no one is doing anything inappropriate. We have rules against things like that, and we respect people's personal privacy."

"Good." Naruto replied, then smiled and relaxed. "Let me tell Hinata about this when I'm ready, okay? I have some other stuff I need to tell her, I'll just add this to the list."

Jack replied, "Okay, I'd do the exact same thing; I'd rather have a friend tell me something like this than a stranger."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Thanks. See ya tomorrow." He laughed when Jack ruffled his hair, then watched him leave. After the door shut, he whispered, "Before I talk to Hinata..." Leaving the sentence unfinished, he sat on the side of his bed and closed his eyes.

===Naruto's Mindscape===

Naruto walked into the cage room and went directly to the huge barred gate, then slowed and stopped as he noticed Kyuubi wasn't waiting at the bars as usual. In fact, he couldn't see Kyuubi at all... which was saying something, considering how big the demon fox was. He was about to call out when he heard a familiar voice.

"**I'm sorry Naruto... please don't hate me.**" The almost female voice came from the darkness within.

"Kyuubi... is that you?" Naruto asked, truly confused. Kyuubi sounded... afraid of him, and had actually apologized. "What's wrong... and what are you apologizing for?"

Kyuubi replied, "**For what happened in the gym. My stupid idea hurt your friend... please don't hate me, it was an accident.**"

Naruto became wide-eyed as it came back to him... but Kyuubi should have known this already. "Haven't you been listening? That was this morning, he's fine now... Hinata fixed his problem because of what happened; and, he's better than ever."

Kyuubi uncurled a little and moved her head into the light by the bars. "**No... I wasn't listening... I was afraid you'd hate me again so I cut our link and hid in the back of my cage... you... you aren't just saying that so I'll drop my guard and you'll lock me away so I can never talk to you again?**" Kyuubi asked, nervous and cautious.

Confused, Naruto replied, "I'm telling the truth, I promise... why do you sound different, is it because you're afraid?"

This was it, the moment of truth... it was time to put her head on the chopping block and hope he didn't cut it off. "**Before we do anything else, there's something I have to tell you... I just hope it doesn't cost me the small amount of trust I've earned.**" Kyuubi answered then laid down and closed her eyes.

Naruto watched intently, suddenly getting nervous. This wasn't the Kyuubi he was used to, even the newer 'nice' version. He watched the shadowy form a few moments as Kyuubi seemed to go to sleep; which was odd considering Kyuubi wanted to tell him something important. He gasped when a human figure appeared out of the darkness and walked up to the bars.

"**Hello Naruto... this is my hanyou body. I'm female... and this isn't a trick. This is basically a shadow clone I moved my mind into, along with 1 tail worth of my power.**" Kyuubi explained, then displayed her fox ears and a long fox tail.

To say Naruto was shocked was an understatement. She looked a lot like Tsunade, but her face reminded him of that movie lady, Angelina Jolie. She even had Tsunade's chest, but her shirt was red, not gray, and her red hair was in 2 ponytails, but hung to her knees. Her eyes were red with vertical slit pupils. "But..." Naruto said, then just stood there, his mouth hanging open in amazement.

"**I want to be your friend Naruto; I owe you, among others, more that I can ever repay. For all the pain I've caused, all the innocent lives I was compelled to take... I deserve to die, but that wish can only be granted by Kami-sama. I'm not asking for forgiveness, just a chance to prove I'm not evil and that I'm worthy of your friendship.**" Kyuubi added, then got down on her knees and bowed her head in submission. She'd dressed like Tsunade to hopefully make Naruto a little more comfortable, and willing to accept her.

"Have you ever lied to me?" Naruto asked, it was the first thing that came to mind... and his chief fear.

Kyuubi raised her head. "**Not since we came through the Stargate, I give you my word.**"

His gut told him she was telling the truth; he'd always been able to tell if someone was a bad person. Naruto would get that feeling in his stomach, but that hadn't happened since he'd come to SGC. And, this wasn't the half-truths he was used to... she meant it, and his gut hadn't failed him yet. "I believe you... and I'll give you a chance to keep helping me. You didn't have to tell me this, but you did, and you did tell me that Hinata loved me so I'll trust you." Naruto nodded to himself. "Everyone deserves a second chance, even you, Kyuubi."

"**Thank you Naruto, I'll prove that I'm worthy of your trust, and your friendship. Until you think I'm worthy... consider me your most humble servant.**" Kyuubi replied, then stood up.

Naruto gave a small nod of agreement, then vanished.

Kyuubi began shaking slightly, then erupted into cheers as she danced around her cage. She hadn't been this happy in a _very_ long time... and she'd passed her first major test.

In the back of Kyuubi's cage, beyond even her ability to detect, another redhead smiled proudly.

===Real World===

Naruto opened his eyes as he came back to the real world. "That was weird... even for me." Naruto said then turned and looked at the telephone on his night table. "It's the same as those wireless radios Iruka-sensei showed us... I have to get use to these things eventually." Naruto said, then thought a few moments before he recalled the number sequence Jack showed him in order to call Hinata. He picked up the receiver and entered the numbers.

===6:30 PM, Hinata's Room, Bathroom===

Hinata was standing in front of her mirror after her quick shower, wearing clean pants and panties, her beige coat on the door hook, a clean shirt and kunoichi bra, or sports bra as they were called here, on the counter. She was trying to make her eyes silvery like they said had happened in General Hammond's office when she was helping Ric.

Hinata frowned at her image in the mirror, glancing downward. "Darn it, I must be doing something wrong." She gently cupped and lifted her slightly sagging breasts with her hands. "If it weren't for these, I probably would have been able to talk to Naruto-kun so much sooner. I wonder if Tsunade-sama had this problem when she was my age?" Hinata sighed and dropped her breasts, they briefly jiggled and settled back into their impressive curves.

Hinata picked up her shirt and held up to her chest, smiling. "Maybe I'll just wear the shirt, no coat or bra... that'd get Naruto-kun's attention." Hinata speculated aloud and giggled, blushing slightly. She shook her head and laughed at her overly-bold declaration, then slipped on her sports bra instead. Leaning forward, she positioned her breasts within the elastic halter, adjusted them into position and activated the hidden seals, watching them morph into modest C cups, then picked up her shirt.

Hinata looked at her reflection again. "Naruto likes big breasts... I know he does, he just didn't know that not all girls are built the same, that's why he chased Sakura... and I was just too shy. I just hope he asks me out, Sam said it's okay if I ask him... but I don't know if I can do that." She mused, then added a sigh.

After putting her shirt on, she grabbed her coat and slipped her arms into the sleeves as the phone rang, startling her a moment. Then she remembered what that sound meant, ran across the room and lifted the receiver to her ear.

"Hello?" Hinata asked, then smiled at the sound of Naruto's voice. "No... I'm not busy." She listened a few moments, fighting her desire to giggle as he was almost stuttering like she use to. "Hai, please come over... you're welcome anytime." Hinata replied, hung up, then flopped back on her bed, arms out to her sides, and cheered like... well, a 13 year old girl.

===6:40 PM===

Hinata opened her door and smiled. "Hello Naruto, please come in."

"Thanks Hinata." Naruto replied, then walked to her bed and sat on the side.

Hinata shut her door and walked over, standing near Naruto. "What did you want? Is it about what happened with Ric?"

"I do want to know about that because I didn't find out much during dinner, but I came to ask you to help me." Naruto explained and gave her an embarrassed half-smile.

"What do you need help with?" Hinata asked, hiding her excitement at the opportunity to help Naruto out.

"You know the scroll I got from that Temple... well, sealed in it was this weird stone bowl, and a brush. There are also instructions on how to make seals, but..." Naruto explained, getting increasingly nervous. "My writing stinks and... teach me how to do that fancy writing stuff... please Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled. "You mean calligraphy, Naruto-kun?" She asked and he nodded, obviously embarrassed.

"Hai, to make seals like Jiraiya does, I need to make those fancy letters and patterns, and even I know that when you make a seal, it has to be exact. If you make even a small mistake, it can change what the seal does." Naruto replied, remembering his talk with Jiraiya after he'd removed Orochimaru's 5-Point Seal from his seal. He'd listened because Jiraiya had yelled at him... and, if he didn't know the basics of his seal it might let Kyuubi escape.

"Hai, I'd love to... do you have that brush?" Hinata asked.

Naruto nodded, stood and took it out of his large pants pocket, he'd grabbed it before coming to her room. "Hai, I figured you'd want to see it." Naruto replied and held it out.

Hinata took it carefully, it was the most beautiful brush she'd ever seen. "Wow... this is beautiful, even the finest brushes at the Main House aren't this good... is this stone?"

"Yeah, it's really light, but I've never touched anything so hard... I don't think even the stuff the Stargate is made of can scratch it." Naruto said.

Hinata looked at Naruto, stunned. According to Sam, the material that made up a Stargate is the hardest natural substance they've ever encountered, but it was way too heavy to use for anything like armor. One brick of it weighed almost 90 pounds.

(A/N: that's 3 times the weight of a gold brick, which is 27.5 lbs. There's no official weight on Naquadah, so I made it about 3 times heavier than gold because it take 2 Jaffa to carry a few bricks of refined Naquadah)

"Wanna see something cool?" Naruto asked with a mischievous smile. Hinata nodded, then he took back the brush and pulled a kunai from his pocket. "I know I'm not supposed to have it, but its an old habit. I have a couple hidden in my room... but don't tell anyone that."

Hinata nodded, she couldn't blame him, after all, a civilian could never fully disarm a shinobi without their consent. Besides, she didn't want to admit it, but she'd done the same thing. If something happened, and according to Sam it had... several times, she wanted fast access to a familiar weapon.

"Watch this." Naruto said, holding the kunai handle in his left, and held the brush like a kunai, near the brush end, then raised it and drove it down into the widest part of the kunai's blade near the handle.

Hinata gasped when the pointed end of the brush went right through the blade like it was nothing. Then Naruto pulled it out, and held up the kunai up to his face... looking at her through a hole, with his left eye.

"That's incredible!" Hinata exclaimed, then after a glance to see if it was intact, took the brush and looked at the tip. It didn't have so much as a tiny blemish on it... and it wasn't even sharp, just the tapered end you'd expect to see.

Naruto switched items with her and let her see the kunai. "It didn't cut it, it just... hmm, ah! It pushed the metal out of the way, like when you stick your finger in mud or sand."

Hinata nodded, his explanation sounded solid; she hadn't seen a single spark, and the kunai had a near perfect hole in it. Glancing at the hole again, she handed it back. "Here, put this away and don't tell _anyone_ about it until we know more."

Naruto pouted, then nodded and did as he was told. "So, how do we start my training?"

"Let me get some paper, brushes and ink. Until you know what that brush does, I don't think you should practice with it." Hinata explained, then after he acknowledged her request with a nod, she went to her dresser to get the materials she needed. As she reached her bed coming back, she stopped, remembering that she wanted to talk to Naruto about some things. Hinata sat the supplies on the end of her bed.

Hinata put on her serious face. "Naruto, before we get started I need to talk to you about Ric's chakra, and what happened."

Naruto frowned and replied with a sad voice. "I know he's okay... but I still feel bad about what happened." He stood up and began pacing with a worried look on his face. "Is Ric-san really okay? When I saw him laying on the ground... and Jack and Janet-sensei over him..." His words died off.

Hinata pondered the oddness of Ric's chakra for a long moment, making Naruto even more nervous. "As to your question, yes... he is fine now, or at least I think so."

Naruto detected the uncertainty in Hinata's voice. "You don't sound very sure about it."

Hinata frowned briefly then reassuringly touched Naruto's hand. "It's very hard for me to explain." She scooted slightly closer to Naruto. "As a Hyuuga, I've received well beyond the usual training concerning chakra; not to mention all of the various chakra systems I've seen with my own eyes..." Naruto chuckled at the unintentional humor in her observation. "...but Ric-san's chakra is a total mystery to me."

The Kyuubi's ears pricked up at that admission. From her past experience, the Hyuuga's were generally too proud to admit ignorance, _or_ being wrong for that matter. Eager to please Naruto, and more than a little bored (sitting in a cage will do that to you); she gave the matter her undivided attention. Besides... a Hyuuga admitting that they had an unknown chakra on their hands was noteworthy in it's own right.

Hinata let out a deep breath and looked very intently at Naruto. "However, I did note one thing in particular; Ric-san's chakra seemed rather... focused on you. Do you have any idea why?"

Both Naruto, and the Kyuubi gulped. He quickly averted his eyes from Hinata's gaze. Within his mindscape, Naruto yelled, '_Kyuubi... what do I say? She's gonna know it if I lie to her!_'

For a brief moment, Kyuubi was totally befuddled... while she could lie with the best of anything that drew a breath, she knew that suggesting he lie would cause nothing but harm for Naruto, and herself. She quickly chose the safest responses, '**Tell her it's a secret**. (which it was...) **And tell her you need permission before you can say anything about the matter**.' Naruto dutifully repeated the Kyuubi's suggested responses.

Hinata silently sighed at Naruto's reply. While she sensed he was being truthful... to a point; he was still actively dodging the nub of her question. But for her, Naruto's words were an answer in and of itself. It was just one of many aspects concerning Naruto that he kept close to himself.

Hinata shook her head and sighed. "Please don't worry about it any more Naruto. Everyone knows that it was an accident." Hinata rubbed her chin. "In fact, it turned out for the best... for Ric-san." She locked eyes with Naruto. "I need you to send some letters to Tsunade-sama. I'll bring them to you in the morning, before we go to breakfast. Please, sit down and listen. You might know something I don't, or missed."

Naruto nodded and joined her on the bed. '_Kyuubi, I want you to listen too, you might know something we don't._' Naruto thought to Kyuubi. "Okay Hinata, I'm ready."

Hinata began her recounting of the details as she knew them... and the more the Kyuubi heard, the more interested she became. She wasn't sure why, but Ric's chakra sounded familiar to her... but the memories, as she tried to recall them, were old, and buried very deeply.

===Saturday, April 5, Morning Training Session, SGC, Gym B===

Sam watched the 2 inch paper square barely rustling in her right hand, and began to truly understand how big the gap was between her and Hinata, Naruto... even Ric and Jeri. Hinata called this 'leaf spinning', though they weren't using real leaves, but paper squares instead. Hinata and Naruto had started their training by demonstrating this basic chakra control exercise. Naruto had spun 1 in each hand at a decent speed about an inch above his palm, Hinata had spun 2 in each hand like miniature buzz saws at 2 and 3 inches above her palm and fingertips respectively.

With Hinata taking notes for her, at the end of the first day of their training session, Janet had everyone's starting skill level established, as compared to a fledgling Konoha Academy student; information Hinata had provided based on her own training and observations. Janet was very pleased with herself, ranking 4th in this impressive class of 7.

In 5th place was Daniel, who had to admit that he wasn't expecting to be ahead of Jack, or especially Sam, who was 6th, mainly because he was the only person there with no military or martial arts training. Meditation was as close as he'd gotten... although he suspected that being ascended twice _was_ aiding his efforts. But, he knew what his friends were capable of, and guessed that all the current placements would change soon enough.

Hinata carefully watched everyone's progress, smiling as she noted that the ongoing, but friendly, rivalry between Teal'c and Jeri had gone to the next level. Jeri was the second student to add a paper square to his forehead... keeping it in place while manipulating the paper squares in his hands. Teal'c had tried likewise, but had trouble keeping the paper affixed for more than a minute... before it shot away from his forehead and fluttered to the floor.

She discreetly glanced at Ric-san's efforts; seeing him apply himself brought to mind the stories their sensei's told them about past (superior) students, like Naruto's sensei, Kakashi... and Itachi. While they didn't mention them directly by name, if you listened carefully enough, it became fairly obvious who they were referring to. Ric's progress with his chakra was both fascinating, and a bit scary to watch... as she remembered it, he was easily out-pacing Neji's first efforts at spinning.

However, through her special sight, she had seen that he possibly had an unexpected advantage. She was still unsure of it, but she was beginning to suspect that Ric-san's chakra was... _molding itself_ as he needed it, aiding him in his efforts. She reminded herself to add that particular observation to the journal she had started, in anticipation of the questions Tsunade-sama would have about Ric-san, and the other students in her class.

===April 5, 7:56 AM, Konoha, Hokage Tower Pt 1===

Tsunade glanced at the clock. "I can't believe that I actually miss being neck deep in paperwork... I need a hobby or something I can do here to pass..."

POOF

Gamakichi announced, "**Hey Pretty Lady.**"

"Gamakichi, I didn't expect to see you this morning." Tsunade replied after he appeared atop her desk.

Gamakichi opened his mouth, dropped a bundle of letters on the desk and retracted it. "**I have messages for you from Naruto and Hinata. He said they're really important.**" Gamakichi explained, then paused in thought; he added, "**Naruto also said to have Jiraiya summon me tonight for the replies.**" After seeing Tsunade's nod of agreement, he dispelled.

Tsunade's face lit up, partially because it was something to do, but mainly because they were from Naruto. She unwrapped the bundle then paused. "Better safe than sorry." Tsunade declared, then stepped on a certain spot on the floor and pushed some chakra into it, a moment later there was a soft pop, as the Security Seal activated.

At her desk Shizune paused for a moment when she felt the small seal Tsunade had placed on her, activate, alerting her that the office's seal was active. Shizune smiled and thought, '_It's probably a letter from Naruto-kun_.'

Tsunade quickly went through the letters and sorted them into piles. "Okay... 2 from Naruto, 1 from Hinata...and 1 marked SECRET, obviously from Naruto... the little brat." Tsunade mused playfully, smiling happily at being teased. She glanced at the other piles not addressed to her. "I'll send those after I've read mine."

Tsunade picked up Naruto's with a '1' on it. "Subtle." She said with a chuckle then opened it.

As she got further into the letter, her amused expression suddenly shifted to shock. As she lowered the letter, Tsunade exclaimed, "They can use chakra?" Then her expression shifted again, this time going into Hokage Mode and continued reading, nodding to herself after reading that Hinata had used her Byakuugan to assist in the process.

"Clever, I'll have to remember that trick." Tsunade remarked to herself as she read further. Then she made a mental note of Hinata's feat in creating a teaching technique that even she had missed. She began making plans to upgrade the Hospital, Academy and a few other places with variations of Hinata's technique. However, that meant dealing with Hiashi if she wanted more Hyuuga's... something she was not looking forward to.

With a sly grin Tsunade picked up the letter marked secret and opened it. The further she read, the more intrigued, and puzzled her face became... less than half-way in, she dropped the letter, and the Security Seal.

Shizune started as Tsunade's voice... tense and low came through the intercom speaker. "_I have a project for you, Shizune. I want you to gather every scroll in Konoha on the subject of chakra..._" There was a long pause. "_...and every scroll concerning kekkei genkai's while you're at it. Go to the archives, and the clans if you must_."

Shizune's eyebrows went up. She replied, "I'll need..."

"_I don't care... get all the Genin on IMO status, authorize B-rank pay for the job..._" Tsunade's voice lowered further, a sure sign of her mood. "_Just get it done, quickly... and do what you must to get those scrolls... and I don't care how you do it_."

Shizune swallowed hard; she knew what that last part might entail.

===7:28 AM, Konoha, Aburame Compound===

Suzumebachi walked out of her bathroom, crossed her bedroom to the closet and stopped in front of the full length mirror on the door... and smiled at her nude body. "A week out of that cell in a home with real food and a family to care about... though most of them are too quiet for my liking... I look better than I ever did back in Iwa. Who wouldn't find this sexy... 17 years old, a perfect 5'5" tall, 135 pounds of kunoichi muscle topped by a beautiful pair of full, E cup tits, a killer ass... and the sweetest, Princess pussy you'll find anywhere." Suzumebachi observed proudly.

That last part always made her smile. Just above the thick, smooth lips of her pussy was a the symbol of who she was now, the heart and soul of her new life... the thick brown bush covering her large, plump mound. it was as thick on the edges as it was in the center, and since being locked up she hadn't cut it... and she never would. Most Iwa kunoichi shaved smooth, as she had since she was 10... she'd never do that again, the thought sickened her.

"I'm a Queen bee with the mother of all sexual stingers and a sex drive that would kill any civilian... and what do I spend my day doing? Hanging around a Clan that barely talks, and all dress the same so I can't tell if half of 'em are male or female. And who's my only friend here, my guardian, the wife of the Clan Head, and a former kunoichi that could kill me faster than I could blink my eyes... and if that wasn't enough, her nickname..." Suzu said and froze.

Suddenly in her reflection was a distinctive green coat. Suzumebachi swallowed nervously. "Hi Ukemi-chan."

"My nickname... what?" Ukemi asked in her usual soft voice.

Suzumebachi slowly turned around and looked up into the dark green eyes of the near 6' woman. "Nothing... I wasn't too loud was I? Shino is normally up by now."

"Do you want to do anything with me after breakfast. Clothes shopping... make love?" Ukemi asked, at the last word, she opened her coat revealing her nude body and huge, hanging breasts. Suzumebachi blushed bright red and fainted, Ukemi caught her. "Oh well... clothes shopping it is." She commented with a brief smile.

===7:42 AM, Ino's Bedroom===

Standing before her full length mirror clad only in pale purple lace panties, Ino did a self-assessment. She was pleased that she had finally managed to find the happy medium between sleekness and muscles... then frowned at the contrast between the lightly tanned parts of her body, and the creamy whiteness of the normally covered parts. "I should do something about that..." She commented, then realized that finding a proper place to sun-bathe in the nude was rather... troublesome. Sighing at the realization she was thinking like Shikamaru, she refocused on her reflection and lightly examined her breasts with her fingertips. "Impressive enough, if I do say so myself... for 13. Oh well, perfection takes time. It took me 4 years to become top diva, even if I did cheat." Ino said as she recalled the moment she started gossip hunting.

* FLASHBACK *

A 10 year old Ino sat down at the edge of the 3 acre clearing in the woods that was the back half of the Yamanaka Estate. Leaning against a tree, Ino set down the blonde cat she had been holding, then removed and unwrapped a piece of raw tuna from a bag she'd kept in her utility pouch. There were many small animals living on the Estate, but the real reason, that only her family knew, was that they used them as subjects for their mind jutsu training.

While they weren't house cats, since they actively hunted for some of their meals, they weren't feral either. Independent pet was the term her father used years ago when she'd asked if she could keep a cat in the house. "If this works I'll be able to get gossip on anyone." Ino declared with a smile, then made the hand sign at the cat. "MIND TRANSFER JUTSU!"

An instant later Ino's view of the cat closed and merged; and, after a brief moment of disorientation, Ino found herself looking at her inert body, leaning against a tree, apparently asleep. She spent about 8 minutes testing out the cat's body. Then, when she felt she was reaching her limit, she canceled the jutsu and returned to her body.

A few moments later Ino blinked her eyes a few times then smiled deviously as she picked up a happy, but slightly confused, cat. "I'll call you... Kensha." (A/N: kensha **-** sightseer)

* END FLASHBACK *

Doing a graceful turn to check her hair, she commented, "Now that I don't have to pretend I like that traitor Sasuke, and I'm friends with Sakura-chan again... maybe she'll tell me what she's been doing when she disappears... and where she got the money to buy all that stuff when she used me as her pack animal... Not that I minded it all that much, it was worth it to have her back."

Ino added, thinking aloud, "At the time I was just happy to have her back... but with all of us restricted to the Village, the IMO-assignments, and then we're suddenly being handed high level Clan jutsus... even Tsunade is acting odd."

Ino considered the facts at hand. "Tsunade only came back to be 5th Hokage for Naruto; then Naruto and Hinata disappear on a C-Rank mission, Tsunade declares them missing, then goes super bitch on everybody and Sakura turns suicidal... then all of a sudden everyone's fine, Sakura disappears for hours at a time, and no one knows where she goes." Ino frowned and tapped her nose. "I know Sakura better than anyone; and, I'm the only person in the world she can't lie to."

Ino glanced at the two outfits she had laid out. "Sakura knows what's going on, and I know how she thinks. A mood swing that big can only mean Sakura knows the truth about them... and since she's not dead, or locked up in a hospital room, the only reasonable conclusion is that he's alive, and with Hinata... somewhere."

Ino decided on the less daring of the two outfits. "No one has that much influence or her mood except Naruto. And if Sakura won't let me in on what going on... I'll just use my trump card... and hope it doesn't get me killed in the process." Ino declared, then sighed and continued dressing.

As she smoothed and checked her outfit one last time, Ino thought, '_Oh Kami, sometimes I wish I really were a dumb blond, then I wouldn't have to hide what I'm really capable of. I don't want all the responsibility of being a true Yamanaka, but if I have to take it, and more... so be it._'

===9:00 AM, Hokage Tower Pt 2===

She walked in and crossed the Waiting Room to the modest desk. Temari announced, "Morning Shizune-san, I'm here for my appointment with Tsunade-sama."

Shizune signed a document, then raised her head, half smiling. "Morning Temari-san, right on time as usual... you're the only blonde I know that's always on time."

Temari held in her reaction. "Because I'm not from Konoha, now send me in before the big blonde sends me home the hard way." Temari replied, a faint smile on her face.

"_Send Temari in Shizune, I know she's standing there!_" Tsunade half yelled over the intercom.

===A Moment later, Tsunade's Office===

Tsunade smiled to herself. "Chatty bitch.. that'll get Shizune off the gossip fence." She added a quiet laugh and waited. A few moments later the door opened and as Temari walked in, the small smirk on the younger blonde's face quickly vanished, choosing to be all business until the official work was over. Tsunade matched her, hoping that Naruto wouldn't be one of the topics at hand... but she knew her luck wasn't that good.

Temari stopped in front of the desk between the 2 chairs and bowed slightly. "Greetings Hokage-dono, Temari Sebaku reporting as required by the Treaty. May I sit?" Temari asked, then took the chair to her right after Tsunade nodded.

"You don't have to do that Temari." Tsunade replied casually.

"I know, it's force of habit from years of official meetings... being the oldest child of a Clan Head, and the Kazekage is a pain in the butt... as you well know." Temari added with a small smile.

"Oh kami, don't even get me started. So then, anything new from Suna... business, clients... information?" Tsunade asked, lowering her voice slightly at the last item.

Temari frowned. "The Wind Daimyo cut our monthly water ration... again; we still don't have a permanent Kazekage, one of our top Jonin is standing in for now... and Gaara hasn't threatened to kill anyone in a whole month." Temari added and smiled proudly.

Tsunade smiled warmly. "He _is_ getting better. So if there's no more official business..." Tsunade asked, then frowned as Temari glanced about.

"There's a special message for you from the Council." Temari replied, and removed a scroll from her equipment pouch and rolled it to Tsunade across her desk. She sighed and added, "And no, I don't know what it's about."

Tsunade checked it, found the official seal, unsealed it and began reading. A small grin appeared on her face after a few moments, hidden from Temari by the scroll. With that task done, she added some comments to the document, signed her name, then re-rolled it and put her seal on it. She gave Temari a sly smile. "It's just some overdue business that you'd probably find interesting... but you'll have to wait to find out what it is."

Tsunade took a scroll out of her desk and rolled both of them back towards Temari. "Here's your reply and the usual stuff. Now, what's the newest kunoichi gossip in Suna?" Tsunade asked excitedly, a large Naruto-like smile on her face.

There are 3 kinds of gossip, most would say 2 depending on who was asked, and who did the asking. The basic level was Civilian Gossip, general village stuff. Then there was Shinobi Gossip... the semi-secret stuff that leaked out in bars and such. Then there was the best information network, Kunoichi Gossip; special information only shared between kunoichi, active and retired. No man had access to it as it was often about them... good and bad.

"Well there is something... as you know Gaara has been working hard to get past his old... self, and he is." Temari let out a sigh of relief. "And, one of the results of his efforts, is that a few of our best new Genin kunoichi are developing crushes on him, one in particular." Temari explained with a small grin of pride that girls actually did like her baby brother. However, regardless of who they were though, they had to get past her first.

Tsunade straightened up, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really... congratulations! I'd regard that as fantastic news. Especially when you consider how he was generally viewed, and feared, by the people of Suna."

Temari nodded in agreement, then tensed up slightly; and, she knew Tsunade had noticed. "I could get in serious trouble for telling you this... but there's another reason I'm here." Temari explained, getting slightly nervous.

Tsunade's Hokage Face returned with full force. "Then tell me Temari; if you're here on some secret mission from the Wind Council... tell me now while we're still friends... or you'll need a team of med nins to remove your fan from where I shove it."

Temari clenched her butt cheeks on reflex... that was no idle threat. "No, it's nothing like that, I swear." Temari replied, her very polished 'nothing bothers me' mask slipping, her hands up in front of her. "It's for Gaara..."

Tsunade very subtly flinched, this is what she feared might happen... and it wasn't going to end well. "Stop... don't say it Temari, I know where this is going." Tsunade replied, and hardened her expression further, causing Temari to openly flinch.

"What I'm about to tell you is an S-ranked secret that can _only_ be shared with Kankurou and Gaara, if anyone else finds out... and you will be on the wrong side of my full power as Hokage, and a Sannin. Understood?" Tsunade added in a powerful, but calm voice, and with more than enough killing intent to cow Temari.

Temari nodded immediately knowing this concerned Naruto, and given how Tsunade felt about him. Add to that the fact that Suna was already on a short leash because of their role in the failed invasion during the Chuunin Exam Finals... with Tsunade now holding that proverbial leash. She knew full well that Tsunade would end her existence as a woman if she betrayed Konoha, or caused any harm to Naruto.

"Just over a month ago Naruto and the members of Team Kurenai went on a special mission... Naruto and Hinata didn't return from it. I had to officially declare them as missing... but that wasn't the truth. They're on a... Shadow Mission that I've assigned them to." Tsunade explained in her Hokage voice, carefully controlling her emotions, and what she might reveal.

Temari swallowed nervously and asked, "I'm probably putting my head on the chopping block for asking this, but... are Naruto and Hinata ANBU?"

"I'll forget you asked that, this time... but these are special circumstances so I'll give you a pass on that... but no, they're not. Now then, you can ask me one question, off the record and unrestricted, then you're dismissed." Tsunade explained, then stood up and walked around her desk. She leaned close to Temari with her hands on the arm rests, a neutral expression on her face. "Temari, if you mention anything I told you about Naruto and Hinata to anyone outside of Konoha, I _will_ find out..."

"And you'll make me wish I wasn't female." Temari interrupted, lightly shaking from fear, a rare feeling for her.

Tsunade's smile would of humbled Anko. "And then I'll get mad." She added and stood back. "Before you ask, I think you should know that I've told a few of my most trusted shinobi the truth, so don't think for a moment you're ever alone within the village walls. Now then, ask your question."

===11:35 AM, Konoha Business District===

Temari headed for the one place, and person, she had the strongest connection to in Konoha. Tsunade's final comment wasn't adding up in her mind. Why did Tsunade say what she did, and phrased that way? She refused to believe that Tsunade had made a mistake, she was too smart, and far too experienced for that to happen. Was she doing what Tsunade expected her to do? If she wasn't, she had no doubts that her latest return to Konoha would end in a small cell in ANBU Headquarters.

Temari smiled when she saw the sign, then headed for the front door of the store. A little bell chimed when she walked in and made her way to the right side where the counter was.

"Welcome to The Wolf Claw, how may I help you?" Tenten announced, her fake smile was replaced with the genuine version as her customer came into view. "Hey Temari-chan, had your meeting with Tsunade-sama already?"

Temari glanced about before replying. "Hai... is anyone else here, we need to talk privately."

Tenten's eyes widened a bit further; she hoped she was right about what Temari meant. "No, Dad went home for lunch since Mom is back from Wave Country, they're really starting to prosper now. Give me a minute to close up so we aren't interrupted... you have to buy something though." Tenten added with a smirk as she headed for the door.

"Deal." Temari replied and sighed softly, she still felt badly about how their match had ended. She was glad that she hadn't crippled Tenten; what she had done that day was uncalled for, but at the time... she didn't care. '_Oh Kami, I was such an arrogant, nasty bitch back then_.' Temari thought and steeled herself for what might come next.

Once the door was locked and the CLOSED sign was showing, Tenten moved back to her spot behind the counter, her expression hard as steel. Tenten took a deep breath and dove straight in. "Okay Temari, what do you know about Naruto and Hinata?"

Temari's eyebrows raised slightly and thought, '_Does she know? Tsunade said her most trusted shinobi, not Jonin... does she want me to tell Tenten? I better test her first and see what she knows._'

===Sunday, April 6, 8:32 PM, Sam's Lab===

Jack entered carrying 3 cups of fresh coffee. "Any good news?" He asked as he handed Daniel his cup.

"No." Daniel replied and took a sip. The frustration on his face was plain for all to see.

Jack walked to the table where Sam was and held out her coffee. "This should help." Sam accepted her cup with a smile and took a drink. Jack looked at the notes scattered across her work bench and shook his head, irritated at their lack of progress. "We're the experts here, but we aren't looking very impressive to Naruto and Hinata... or the Hokage. Haven't we done this before, found a lost address?"

Sam set down her cup and frowned, "That's true, we have; however, this situation isn't as simple as that."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, "But we dialed his home address once, can't we do it again?"

Sam explained, "No sir, the first time was purely by accident, it isn't as easy as a phone call."

Jack gave Sam a dubious look. "Why can't they just call us back?"

Sam replied, "We can't just..." then froze mid-sentence when it hit her.

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c stared at Sam's curious pause.

"That's _it_... you're brilliant!" Sam exclaimed excitedly then ran out of the lab.

Jack stared at the open doorway and muttered, "I knew that." He set down his coffee and motioned for everyone to follow. He added, "Let's go see what our resident girl genius is up to now."

===8:39 PM, General Hammond's Office===

Sam explained, "It was in front of us the whole time sir. We can't dial Naruto's world, but they can dial ours. Once we have their address..."

"The rest is icing on the cake." Jack interrupted with a big smile.

Sam smirked agreeably. "Basically, that's correct."

Hammond grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a message to Tsunade, ending with Earth's Gate address, then sealed it in an envelope. "Before we tell Naruto and Hinata, I want this checked from their end, first. Have Naruto send this to the Hokage immediately, but don't tell him why. Dismissed." Hammond ordered and handed the envelope to Jack.

"Yawohl Herr Kommandant!" Jack replied with a thick German accent and saluted, imitating Sergeant Shultz from Hogan's Heroes, and promptly departed.

"He watches way too much TV." Sam commented with an amused smirk.

Daniel just shook his head and sighed, then followed Sam and Teal'c out.

===April 6, 9:35 PM, KSC, Gate Room===

(KSC: Konoha Stargate Complex)

Tsunade could barely contain her excitement. From the moment she read the letter from the Shogun, less than 30 minutes ago, she had wanted to jump around like Naruto typically did... but only 1 thing stopped her... the fact that they hadn't activated their... let alone any, Stargate yet. A flood of emotions flowed through her mind, ignoring most of them.

Tsunade swept her eyes over the hastily summoned group, her 3 experts... on her side at any rate, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Shiho. In addition, she had requested the presence of Kakashi, Kurenai, and Anko; she discreetly ignored the fact that her 2 Genjutsu experts had arrived together. The last to arrive was a mildly buzzed Jiraiya, currently getting a quiet scolding from Shizune. Rounding out the hastily assembled crowd, was the ANBU she'd ordered to gather them, one of her best, and the fastest ANBU she had... Yuugao Uzuki, or Neko as she was known on duty.

As calmly as she could muster, Tsunade asked, "Are the programs ready Sakura?"

Sakura looked away from the computer screen and glanced at Shiho and Shikamaru... who responded with matching shrugs. Of the 3 of them, she had proved the most adept at handling their uncommon piece of technology. Shiho, while familiar with them, preferred to use her sharp intellect, and her favorite jutsus to solve problems. Shikamaru had taken one look at the instruction manual, muttered "troublesome" and left it at that... untouched.

Sakura looked at the computer screen a second time. To the best of her ability, she had set up the monitoring program, as explained by the woman named Sam. She frowned at the displayed readings, they looked alright but something told her that Konoha's best example of technology was barely up to the task at hand. "Hai, Hokage-sama... but I can't promise the computers will handle it. The dialing program is easy enough... but our chief problem is the power the Gate needs. If we didn't wire it correctly..."

Tsunade interrupted, "We'll blow every generator we have and alert every Hidden Village that Konoha is up to no good. Do it."

Sakura nodded and signaled everyone to get ready. She began inputting the commands, announcing each chevron as she entered it into the computer...

The Stargate lit up, and began to cycle, locking each symbol into place.

'_Come on you fucking nightmare, work... bring Naruto-kun back to me._' Tsunade thought as she watched intently. '_That's 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... Almost done... there's 6, and..._' Tsunade silently added, her emotions about to overwhelm her.

"And the final symbol..." Sakura announced, watching intently. She could feel the growing tension, her own adding to it.

K'chunk. The sound echoed through the chamber.

Suddenly the entire Gate, and the DHD, glowed as seals appeared in front of, and around each device... the golden-colored seals pulsed four times, then slowly faded away. At that point, all of the lights on the Stargate, and the DHD went dark.

The silence that followed this unexpected turn of events was overwhelming. However, it was to be short-lived...

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Tsunade screamed in shock... sending everyone to the floor. She growled in frustration and moved towards the DHD, her arm cocked back... her fist encased in glowing blue chakra. The unexpected appearance of the seals had stunned everyone else.

Sakura immediately guessed Tsunade's intent and moving with startling speed, shunshin'ed herself to the DHD and threw herself atop it. She yelled, "DAME, Tsunade-sama!"

Kakashi was the next to move; as he rushed forward, he marveled at Sakura's quick thinking, and her reckless deed. Even he would have thought twice about putting himself in the path of Tsunade's enraged fist. By the time he reached the pair, Tsunade had regained control of her temper and had pulled up short of the DHD. An eye-blink later Jiraiya was along side of him, any trace of drunkenness totally absent. Before Kakashi could say a word, Jiraiya gently grabbed Tsunade's arm and guided the grumbling Hokage back to the table strewn with computers and a jumble of cables.

Kakashi gave the still white-faced, faintly shivering Sakura an eye-smile and helped her off the DHD. He quietly commented, "Well done, Sakura-kun." He leaned forward and added in a whisper, "Just don't do that again, wait until you're a Chuunin if you want to get _that_ adventurous."

Sakura simply nodded in reply and slowly made her way back to the computers.

Jiraiya spoke up. "Since I was a bit distracted..." He gave Shizune a sidelong glance. "I missed seeing those seals in detail."

Shiho replied, "I got a good look at them. I've seen many different kinds of seals, but those were on a whole new level for me... the few symbols I did recognize were characteristic of warding seals and... disabling ones as well. However, I didn't recognize the symbols within the empowerment matrix." Shiho paused to gather her thoughts. "I've always dealt with seals powered by, and activated by charka... but the symbols I saw weren't the typical chakra based ones I've seen before, and I've seen _many_ different variants of those."

With a slightly confused look on her face, Anko glanced at Shiho and added, "What she said. Although I gotta say that some of those fuin symbols reminded me of ones I saw once on some _really _old scrolls that... he was messing around with." Anko went stone-faced as she kept her hands at her side, resisting the urge to touch the Heaven Seal on her shoulder.

Shikamaru remained silent, while he had a slightly better than cursory knowledge of Fuinjutsu, what he saw was completely beyond his reckoning... and it annoyed him beyond words. Ever since he had taken up the task of investigating the Stargate, he consistently ran into walls that he couldn't get over, look through, or walk around... as he had done for most of life. Playing shogi blindfolded with his hands bound behind him would have been far easier. Granted, the scrolls from Naruto's friends, and (he earnestly hoped) Konoha's newest allies helped somewhat... but he knew there were vast gaps in what he had read and understood, and what he truly needed to know.

Kurenai moved to Tsunade's side. "Do we risk another attempt at activating the Stargate?"

Tsunade looked pointedly at Sakura. "Other than those damned seals, was there any problem with the activation?" Sakura shook her head no. "Alright..."

Jiraiya held up his hand. "It'll just end in the same result. While I didn't get the best view of the seal, I saw enough to know that seal was a solid piece of work... although I could probably figure something out... eventually." The glare on Tsunade's face made him take a step back.

Shikamaru broke his silence. "Take a picture of the seals." Everyone present turned their attention to him. Shikamaru shrugged and added, "If you're going to try to neutralize a seal that complex, wouldn't it be better to know what you're up against?"

Tsunade turned towards Neko. "Who...?"

Yuugao responded, "Boar's pretty good with a camera."

Tsunade replied, "Get him here, _now_. And no, I don't care what he's up to."

===Monday, April 7, Afternoon Training Session, SGC, Gym B===

About halfway through the second day of training, Jack finally got his paper to float about half an inch above his palm, and got it to spin... it was slow, but it was turning. His comment of 'maybe I should use magnets', blew almost everyone else's concentration, which earned him a variety of baleful glares from everyone but Teal'c, who glared in his own special way... which was actually scarier than all the others.

Hinata successfully stifled a giggle as a paper square flew by Jack's nose like a shuriken... everyone heard Ric say, "oops". The look of innocence on his face rivaled even Naruto's best efforts.

Sam raised an eyebrow and muttered, "show off...", then redoubled her efforts.

Naruto's face turned red as he struggled to keep from laughing himself silly.

At the end of their 2 hour morning training set, Hinata and Naruto discussed everyone's progress. Hinata was even prouder of Naruto than she was her new friends; he'd made 7 Shadow clones to watch each person, just so he could dispel them... and after that, Naruto would tell her how each of them was doing. His observations helped her with offering suggestions, and corrections, making the training go faster, and easier. And on top of that, he was beginning to act like a sensei... in his own special way, and was having fun at the same time.

Hinata looked over her up-to-date progress report one last time. Ric was 1st, Jeri was 2nd, Teal'c a close 3rd, Sam had jumped into 4th after finding her 'inner kunoichi' as they'd started referring to their new skills. Janet was a close 5th, and in a near tie... Daniel just barely beat Jack, but she could tell that Jack was close to finding his way. As she'd learned from Sam, and listening to their stories, when it came to 'mystical' stuff, as they commonly called it, Jack was a slow starter, but once he found his way he learned very quickly.

===April 7, 10:15 AM, KSC, Gate Room===

Weasel shunshin'ed into the chamber and noted that the Toad Sannin apparently hadn't moved from the spot between the two alien devices since his shift had ended 5 hours ago. His mask hid his frown as he noted that his captain, Neko was still present as well. He walked over to Owl and stood beside her; in a whisper he asked, "Has the boss gotten any rest since yesterday?"

Owl nodded, "Hawk told me she caught some sleep in the Guard Room." She glanced back at the open doorway to the room in question. "I think we need to increase the size of that room, and add a kitchen as well."

Weasel snorted. "Yeah, the pile of take-out food containers was getting rather large until Sakura, and Shiho, had a fit and made us clean it all up." Weasel turned his attention back to Jiraiya. "That man is something else... everybody regards him as a drunken perv, but he's been sitting in that one spot for about 8 hours now."

Owl chuckled. "Well, he _is_ a perv, and does love his sake... but he is a Sannin after all. If anybody can make sense of what happened yesterday, he can." She silently added, '_At least I hope so_.' She recalled the look on Tsunade-sama's face as she finally left the 'gate chamber the previous night... she had managed to blend, anger, depression, and frustration... only leaving, to everyone's relief, after Shizune had bribed her with the biggest bottle of sake she'd ever seen.

Weasel looked about and asked, "By the way, where is our research team?"

Owl replied, "Tsunade-sama gave 'em the day off. It's obvious that any attempt to activate... it, would be a total waste of time, not to mention a horrible security risk." She waved her arm at the chaotic mix of cables and wires littering the floor. "It's only by Kami's grace that we haven't blown Konoha's power grid half-way to Kumo."

Weasel nodded in agreement and added in a low voice, "We're pushing our luck... I still don't believe we've managed to fool that bastard Danzo for this long." He glanced at the entryway to the still-growing complex. "If it weren't for Kurenai's Genjutsu's, we'd probably be up to our eyeballs in ROOT agents by now."

Owl playfully punched Weasel in the arm. "Don't jinx us, baka." She looked about the chamber and suddenly fixed her masked gaze on Jiraiya. "Wait a minute... when did Jiraiya-dono go into sage-mode? And summon those 2 toads? I've never seen them before." She'd heard about it, and read the restricted file on the basics of what that entailed, but had ever seen it.

"What are you talking..." Weasel bit off his reply. "Damn... that must have just happened, he's been sitting there staring at that photo Boar took... up until now." He glanced at Owl. "Should we send a message to the Hokage?"

Owl waved her hand. "Don't bother..." She pointed over her shoulder. "...Neko's already gone."

===Tuesday, April 8, 7:03 AM, Morning Training Session, SGC, Gym B===

"Ric-san, Jeri-san, and Teal'c, you have gone as far as you can at this stage of your training, so please move to the other end of the gym. I have a board on the wall with all of the hand signs, and the sequence of signs for the 3 basic jutsus. Please follow my written directions and practice them as instructed." Hinata asked with a smile.

"I'm telling you, Ric is using magnets." Jack commented with a slight grin.

Sam, Daniel and Janet just sighed and/or rolled their eyes at him.

===April 7, 11:57 PM, KSC, Gate Room===

Tsunade, the research group, the key Jonins, and Shikaku stood off to side in a tight group... all of them watching Jiraiya intently. For the third time Tsunade growled, "When is he going to get off his ass and do something?" Her half-step forward was immediately blocked by Shizune.

"Dame Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-dono has spent well over a day attempting to solve our problem. Do you want his efforts to be all for naught?" The look on Shizune's face was as serious as anyone had ever seen it. She glanced back at Jiraiya, then turned her gaze back onto her boss. "And, he's been meditating in sage-mode for over 12 hours... you'd have to be knee-walking drunk, or stupid beyond words to go near him now and break his concentration. Kami knows what would come of that!"

Tsunade's eyes widened at Shizune's passionate, and angry response. Her eyes went to the floor and she nodded. "Hai hai... I get your point, Shizune." She looked back at Jiraiya. "It's just that he signaled us that he was about to do something over an hour ago..."

Sakura moved to stand beside Shizune; she looked her Hokage in the eye. "Please, Tsunade-sama, have faith that Naruto's Sensei will find a way past that seal."

Kakashi spoke up. "Quiet everybody, Jiraiya-dono's standing up now."

Everyone did as Kakashi bid... and watched as Jiraiya began forming seals with his hands.

===Wednesday, April 8, 2:58 PM, Afternoon Training Session, SGC, Gym B===

Hinata walked up to a depressed-looking Sam, standing apart from the others, who were talking or preparing for the remainder of their afternoon training. "What's wrong Sam?" Hinata asked, concerned at her friend's obvious state.

Sam glanced at the others to make sure they couldn't hear her. "I don't understand what's wrong... I know I should have better control than this... but I can't make it spin any faster." Sam explained in a low voice.

Hinata's eyebrows went up when she heard Sam said say 'make it', and instantly knew what the problem was. She motioned for Sam to lean down. "You're doing it again." Hinata replied with a smile.

"Doing what?" Sam asked, confused at Hinata's breezy response.

Holding in her laughter, there was a big smile on Hinata's face as she reached up and poked Sam's forehead with her right index finger.

Sam was mildly surprised for a moment, before she caught Hinata's meaning and clenched her jaw. "Oh son of a..." Sam growled, angry at herself. "I'm over-thinking it... I know, don't say it, okay..." Sam added and sighed. "Is there any new advice you can give me? I know what to do, it's the how I'm having trouble with."

Hinata thought on it for a few moments, then smiled as an idea formed that she hoped would solve Sam's problem.

===4:30 PM, General Hammond's Office's===

Hammond leaned back into his chair and stared at the center of his desk. '_What on earth could have possibly happened? Gamakichi hasn't come back with any reply, and the Gate Room techs haven't notified me of any unscheduled activations, or DHD queries for that matter_.'

He got up and went to his coffee machine and began making a fresh pot.

'_I'll give it a couple of hours more... then I'll head home_.'

===April 8, 1:51 AM, KSC, Gate Room===

Wow... how many seals has he made so far?" Anko asked.

Kakashi replied, "I lost count after 300."

Neko asked, "Is he still on the same fuin sequence?"

Kurenai responded to the question, "I don't think so... I believe he's trying different sequences." She, like everyone else, was in awe of his skill, and stamina... she would have collapsed hours ago.

Sakura gently touched Shizune's sleeve. "Is Jiraiya-dono alright? He looks..."

Shizune laid her hand on Sakura's shoulder and gave her a gentle look of warning, flicking her eyes to Tsunade. Even Sakura could see the ill-concealed look of concern on her face. She replied quietly, "Just hope for the best."

===Thursday, April 9, 5:40 PM, SG1 Team Room===

"I don't see how it's even possible." Sam exclaimed and gave Ric a dubious look.

Hinata and Naruto exchanged looks; Naruto went first. "Actually, my one teammate, Sakura-chan, while we were in the Academy, learned to do the Bunshin in less than two days of training." Naruto shrugged. "Besides, I remember Kakashi-sensei telling us she had the best chakra control he had _ever_ seen. Heck, I remember her learning tree-walking in less than a half a day."

Jack whistled appreciatively. "She sounds pretty sharp."

Naruto nodded. "In the Academy, she was always scary smart... on just about any subject we studied, but she also had the smallest chakra reserves of any of us in Team 7."

Daniel rubbed his chin. "In a way, that makes sense. The less you have, the better you have to manage it."

Jeri nodded in agreement then added thoughtfully, "Or can manage it."

Sam thought about the letters she had been getting from Konoha recently. The woman (by the handwriting) had asked intelligent, focused, and rather pointed questions about the Stargate and it's workings... among other things. Then she recalled her earlier conversation with Hinata, Sam thought, '_It might be the same girl... I'll have to ask about that later_.' Sam asked, "So, is there a way to increase the amount of chakra you have?"

Both Hinata and Naruto nodded at that question. Naruto responded, "Well yeah... some of the exercises are sorta like the ones you're doing now. Most of the other ones are more like Taijutsu training than not."

Sam rounded back to her original point. "Then why is Ric's chakra control so good? I don't have your eyes, but I'm guessing he's got a _lot_ of chakra."

Hinata replied cautiously, "Yes he does; but, you _all_ have above average levels of chakra." She paused in thought. "If I had to guess, I would have to say that it's related to your various backgrounds, and the amount of physical, and Taijutsu training you've done in the past."

She added silently, '_They all have copious amounts of chakra... especially Ric, Jeri, Teal'c, and Jack. They've probably been building up their chakra reserves for many years. And all that chakra had no outlet for release, until we helped them tap it. That's why some of them are having so much trouble with their leaf exercises... but I can't tell them that, at least not yet. They have to think like Academy students... and learn like them. Revealing the fact that some of them have Jonin-level chakra reserves could interfere with their training_.'

Hinata took the safest route in answering Sam. "Ric has a special condition, and an uncommon one at that. The normal rules concerning chakra control don't exactly apply because of that."

Hoping the steer the conversation in another direction, Hinata added, "My cousin Neji, once he learned how to mold chakra, was capable of doing the basic 3 in less than a week." She paused to search her memory. "Most of our classmates learned to do the Bunshin first, others learned the Henge first, but almost everyone learned how to execute the Kawarimi last."

Daniel asked, "Why is that?"

Naruto replied as he sat down, "Iruka-sensei told us that learning to project your chakra beyond yourself is the hardest thing to do... for beginners."

Ric pulled off his sweatshirt and tied the arms around his waist. "It's not that surprising if you think about it. As they've described the Kawarimi..." He hooked a thumb in Hinata's direction. "...it sounds like a variation on the concept of teleportation. And while it sounds simple enough... the actual process of object substitution stands science, as I was taught it, on it's head."

Daniel nodded and added, "He's right. I've deliberately stopped trying to analyze what I'm doing in terms of physics, and a couple of other sciences..." He grinned and shook his head. "...it spoiled my concentration during leaf spinning".

Ric plopped onto the couch and sighed. "If I took everything I've learned over the past few days, wrote it up as a term paper and gave it to my physics instructor at the Point... he give me an F, and send me to medical for a psych evaluation."

Even Sam couldn't argue that point; and, she imagined her professors at the Air Force Academy doing like-wise with her.

Jack nudged Sam with his elbow. "I told ya they weren't dummies." Naruto sniggered at the look on Sam's face... which earned him a wadded up paper ball up side the head by Sam.

Hinata bit her lip and decided to mention another point. "In our Academy, the Sensei's mentioned that they had encountered... prodigies. Students so advanced, and so powerful, that they far exceeded the norm."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "I was told that Kakashi-sensei graduated at the age of 5, and became a Chuunin at 6."

Sam's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a minute... I thought you guys said you entered the Academy at age 6?" Naruto and Hinata nodded together in reply.

Daniel spoke up. "It's not impossible; Mozart learned to play the violin and the harpsichord, _and_ compose music by the age of 5."

Jeri nodded in agreement. "And I've heard tell of 5 and 7-year old's earning their black belts... trust me, that's no small thing."

Jack looked at Ric and grinned. "I'm not surprised. I remember seeing him do unbelievable stuff years ago." Ric kept his face neutral in response to Jack's declaration.

Sam frowned. "Such as?"

Jack gave her an annoying grin and replied, "That's for him to say, not me."

Jeri held his tongue, he too had heard whispered stories in Somalia about his former commander, not to mention what he had seen with his own eyes.

Everyone in the room focused their attention on Ric.

Ric responded with a shrug. "I'm still thinking things over." He gave Hinata a pointed look. "Discussing clan matters with outsiders is serious business; talking about clan secrets doubly so."

Hinata sighed and nodded in agreement. "He's right. The Elders of my clan would be aghast at what I've told Janet-sensei. I don't even want to think about what they would do to me... as punishment for what I've said, and done, since I've come here."

Naruto growled and replied fiercely, "Over my dead body."

Naruto's reply thrilled, and frightened Hinata... Naruto had no idea what the Elders were capable of, and they were _not_ to be taken lightly.

The atmosphere in the room was broken by a knock at the door. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and yelled, "Enter."

The door opened revealing a petite red-headed Sergeant, holding a sizeable, sealed black metal briefcase adorned with a bright yellow 'Diplomatic Mail' sticker on it in one hand, a thick envelope in the other. The young woman glanced at the assembled group and focused on Ric. "Major Von Krieger, I have a delivery that you need to sign for."

Ric ignored the redoubled stares in his direction, he glanced at the briefcase and smiled knowingly. Ric motioned to young Sergeant. "Certainly, please come in."

Naruto leaned forward, his curiosity ramping up; he looked at Ric and stared eagerly at the briefcase. "What is that?"

Ric wagged his finger in response. "Patience, Naruto-san." He chuckled at the pout on Naruto's face as he signed the receipt, handing the paper back with a smile. "Thank you, Sergeant..." He glanced at the name badge, and her face, he remembered her from his in-processing. "...Cameron." Ric looked the envelope. "Is that for me as well?"

She handed the envelope over, a light blush crossing her face. "Yes sir. Oh, and you'll need to come by Admin and sign some forms concerning this." She politely pointed at the envelope. "Sergeant Nunnelly took the liberty of putting the appropriate stickers on it already."

Ric's smile widened. "Really? Please thank the Sergeant for me." At that, Sergeant Cameron saluted and left... all eyes following her out, then switched back to Ric, who was busy opening the briefcase. Ric fiddled with the combination locks, then removed the seal and opened the briefcase.

Looking at the contents, Ric smiled like a child getting a Christmas present. He said softly, "Tom, I love you man." Ric reached in and pulled out a pistol, inserted into a Brigade M-11 concealed-carry holster. He deftly pulled a clearly modified SIG P-226 TacOps from it's holster, dropped the magazine and racked the slide, letting the chambered round flip into the briefcase. As he ran his fingertips over the pistol, Ric cooed softly, "Oh baby, I missed you." By this time, everyone had gathered around him.

Jack picked up the loose round and eyed it closely; he nodded in appreciation. "Nice. I see you upgraded to a .40 S&W... I never cared much for the switch to 9mm.

Ric chuckled. "Neither did anybody else I know of, especially in the SpecOps gang. I did a little research and discovered that the SIG was on the authorized list."

Jack snickered. "Like that would have stopped you from getting one."

Sam cocked an eyebrow. "I thought your crowd was wedded to the .45 Colt?"

Jeri grinned wolfishly. "We are... but I got my hands on a Para-Ordnance P14-45 LDA, several in fact; all modified to my specifications."

Ric nodded. "It's a good weapon, with 10 instead of 8 rounds. However, I liked the idea of having 20 rounds in the clip. Besides, I've found a reliable vendor of extended mags so I do have the option for a 25 rounder. I checked out the 30-round version and I didn't like how it changed the handling, or balance of the SIG." Ric shook his head. "Too many people don't realize that can be an issue, and tend to watch way too many Hong Kong crime fics... looking cool is for the silver screen, but not so much for tactical operations."

"What's all this?" Sam's eyebrows went up as she got close enough to look at the remaining contents of the briefcase.

Ric smiled coyly. "Just a few things I was forced to leave behind in Moscow. The Russians are very thorough when it comes to finding things that you'd prefer remain hidden. He set down the SIG and pulled a large, sheathed combat knife out of the briefcase. Ric used the knife as a pointer. "Special IDs and documents, trade craft tools, currency from various places... all necessary for... shadow work." Sam stared wide-eyed at the bundles of identity papers, ID badges, passports from various nations; and, the banded stacks of euros, pounds, dollars, and a few plastic tubes containing... gold coins. Also within the briefcase were 5 spare, loaded magazines for the pistol, and a shoulder holster rig. Ric noted the look on everyone's faces. "Didn't Jack mention that I have close friends in... The Company? (E/N: the CIA)

Sam gave Jack a hard stare. "No." She reached out and gently slapped Jack on the back of the head. "No he didn't."

Jack grinned lopsidedly, "Must of slipped my mind... sorry."

Naruto grinned eagerly. "Can I see that, please?" He pointed at the combat knife in Ric's hand. Ric handed the BK9, handle first, to Naruto.

Jeri grinned as Naruto drew the blade from it's sheath... and looked at it longingly. His only comment was, "Wow, Tenten's store doesn't sell anything like this."

Hinata looked inside the briefcase, then at Ric. "Are you sure that you're not a shinobi?"

===April 8, 4:26 AM, KSC, Gate Room===

Jiraiya gave the gate a grim smile. '_I think I have it now_.' Two hours into his numerous attempts to access the seal, he remembered an ancient scroll that Sarutobi-sensei had once shown him... decades ago. Badly abused and burnt in places, it was the oldest fuinjutsu scroll he'd ever laid eyes on. He had finally recalled the meaning of the 3 key symbols in the seal that had been frustrating him for over a day-and-a-half now. He started the hand-seal sequence that he hoped would earn him his hard-fought victory. Not that he had a choice... he knew he was at the end of his tether; as much nature chakra as he had gathered into himself, it was nearly gone. If he failed now, he'd have to repeat the whole process all over again... and he wanted none of that.

===9:40 PM, Ric's Room, SGC===

Ric opened his PalmPilot and tapped in a password with a stylus. Quickly tapping through the menu, he brought up his civilian phone list. As he reached for his cell phone he saw the unopened letter from his Obasama laying the corner of his desk. Sighing, he rubbed his face and pushed the mobile aside.

Muttering to himself he picked up the letter. "You've put this off long enough, Ric." He glanced at the list of numbers displayed on his PDA. "And, you've set yourself apart from everyone for far too long." Unfolding the letter, he began reading... several minutes later he set it down and sighed. "Perhaps you have changed, Obasama..." As he considered his reply, he groaned out loud; his best, and only brush, was still back in Moscow... probably. For brief moment, an image of Irina's smiling face popped into his head before it faded like a whisper of smoke.

Shaking his head to clear it, he set the letter aside and picked up the PDA. "So then, who to call first... after I talk to Mom."

===April 8, 6:15 AM, KSC, Gate Room===

Sweat dripping off him, Jiraiya formed the final 3 signs, and spoke aloud the key words he had discerned from the seal that he hoped would end this trial. "LIFE... LOVE... REDEMPTION."

The golden, glowing seal returned and flashed 3 times... then the color changed to a silvery hue, and faded away. As Jiraiya collapsed to the chamber floor, he swore that he caught a glimpse of a pair of faces... a white-haired woman and a blonde man, both smiling as their hair was blowing back... and imagined a voice whispering in his mind, '_Well done, Toad Master_.' The 2 elder toads, Fukasaku and Shima, vanished as he returned to normal and started to fall.

The Stargate chamber exploded with activity: Tsunade, with tears in her eyes rushed towards Jiraiya's limp form, Shizune and Sakura close on her heels; Neko yelling out orders to the ANBU on hand; Kurenai pondering the best Genjutsu to use to sneak Jiraiya into Konoha General Hospital; and Anko... kicking a dozing Shikaku awake.

===Friday, April 10, 9:00 AM, Cheyenne Mountain Main Entry Point===

Jack was glad that the walk out of SGC hadn't taken that long; the closer Naruto and Hinata got to the final security check-point, the more it seemed like Naruto was going to explode... not that Jack blamed him. Unlike the original members of SG1, who could leave the base once they were off the duty roster, or not on 'on-call' status, both Naruto and Hinata were on restricted status... and confined to SGC for obvious reasons.

Ric grinned at Naruto's eagerness, even though it seemed ages ago, he still remembered his very first pass after enrolling at West Point. That being said, his first departure from The Point (as it was called) paled in comparison to SG1's new shinobi members stepping out to get their first glimpse of a brand new world, and a whole new country... America.

Sam and Daniel exchanged smiles as both of them noted Hinata's restrained excitement. Outwardly, she looked far calmer than her companion, but after seeing her adjust her fake eyeglasses for the umpteenth time... her excitement became plain enough to see, especially when the tunnel entrance to Cheyenne Mountain loomed ahead.

Daniel chuckled quietly as he watched the heads of the 2 young shinobi swivel about, taking in all the details once they cleared the tunnel entrance to SGC, both of them wide-eyed at the sights they were viewing for the very first time. He heard comments like, "the sky's so blue", and "it's sorta like Kumo"... and other such interesting snippets. He made a mental note to ask Naruto and Hinata about their first impressions later on.

After a short walk down the road away from Cheyenne Mountain, they reached the parking lot where various private, and government vehicles were parked. Crossing the lot, they finally reached their objective. "What's that?" Naruto asked, pointing at the big dark-green thing that looked like a giant enclosed metal wagon.

Ric chuckled. "This is our ride, it's called a sport utility vehicle, otherwise known as an SUV." He gave his brand-new Ford Expedition an affectionate pat.

"So it's like a wagon?" Hinata asked, holding in her emotions better than Naruto, but her surprise was obvious.

"When you took your first tour of SGC, do you remember the FREDs and MALPs?". Hinata recalled the small multi-wheeled vehicles and nodded. "Recall that both of those vehicles had an internal power plant to make them go." Sam nodded at the SUV. "And like them, this has it's own means of propelling itself. But, unlike the FRED, it needs someone to directly operate it. Plus, it's enclosed to shield what's inside from the weather, and extreme heat and cold."

Sam walked to the SUV and patted the hood. "Now then, do you remember that one science book I gave you to look at?"

Hinata smiled and nodded. "It took me awhile to finish it, but yes, it was very interesting."

"Good." Sam patted the hood again. "Now then, quiz time. What kind of engine do you think is used in this vehicle?"

Hinata thought about it for a few moments, recalling the various types of power systems, and their pictures, that were in the book. "Hmm... internal combustion?"

Sam smiled and gave Hinata a thumbs-up. "Very good, right on the first try."

Daniel sidled up to Jack. "Why aren't we taking one of the staff Suburbans?"

Jack smiled, shook his head and pointed at Ric. "It's his fault, he said he'd rather eat worms than drive a Chevy." They both laughed at Ric's quirk. Jack added, "Besides, he made a good point; a vehicle without government plates will garner less notice. SGC does have enemies that pay attention to it's goings-on outside the base. And, given the nature of our new friends, the less attention, the better."

Jack noted Naruto's close, noisy, and vigorous examination of Ric's new SUV and sighed. "Or at least that's the current plan."

Teal'c, standing off to the side noted the sub-groups SG1 had fallen into; Sam and Hinata were walking around Ric's vehicle, discussing the different elements of it. Ric had put Naruto in the driver's seat, pointing out and explaining the different parts of the interior, and the various features of the SUV. Jack and Daniel were standing off to the side making humorous observations, and comments about Naruto, the SUV, Ric, and things in general. He allowed himself a brief smile and recalled his first trip out of SGC. He hoped that Hinata and Naruto would have a equally good time.

After a few more minutes of getting Naruto settled down... and answering most of his endless questions on just about everything, Ric called everyone together. "Okay people, if everybody's ready, we'll head out now." He reached inside the SUV and triggered the rear gate release. "Put your overnight bags in the back, and let's get seated." He looked over assembled group and pointed. "Teal'c, since you're one of the taller ones, you ride shotgun; Naruto and Hinata, you get the third row seat in the back; everybody else... you all decide amongst yourselves who sits where in the middle row." After a quick session of rock-paper-scissors, Daniel and Jack got the window seats, Sam got the middle spot.

As Ric watched everyone stowing their gear, he allowed himself a treat, he extracted a Russian-style cigarette from one of his few remaining packs of Kazbek's, crimped the tube and lit it with his favorite Zippo. After a couple of drags, he spoke up. "Okay, here's the chief rule: seatbelts on at all times while we're moving. Is anyone here prone to motion-sickness?" No one responded. "Good. If you hear me say, or yell action stations, that means I'm switching over to tactical driving mode. If I call out, heads down, everybody not packing a weapon bends over and stays _below_ window level until I say all clear. Any questions?" No one spoke up.

Ric took a drag on his cig and looked at Naruto and Hinata. "This is very important, no jutsus or shinobi stuff in public. Period." Ric stared at Naruto. "NO Shadow Clones, period." Naruto heard the tone in Ric's voice and simply nodded in reply. "And no fighting in public... unless you sense you're in danger, and even then, _no_ killing unless it's you, or them. If anybody needs killing, leave it to us; we have the authorization, and IDs to get past any legal stickiness."

Sam puffed her cheeks out. "Ric, it's just a 3-day pass, it's not like we're going to Baghdad."

Ric gave Sam a tight smile. "You did read the summary of my bio, right?" Sam nodded.

Jack spoke up, "You're 50 and 100, right?"

Ric shook his head. "Nope, the word I got before I left Moscow is that it was upped to 100 and 150." Jack whistled appreciatively.

Naruto tugged on the sleeve of Jack's jacket. "Ne ne Jack, what's 100 and 150?"

Jack gave Naruto a cheery smile. "Ric's bounty. 100 kilos of gold dead, 150 kilos alive."

Hinata made her best guess and did a quick calculation in her head... Her eyes widened; she had never heard of a bounty that high for anyone in Konoha... except Tsunade, maybe. "Oh my." She saw the look on Naruto's face. "Ric-san has an 9 figure bounty on his head."

Naruto whistled. "Sugoi."

Sam's jaw dropped. "Is that what 50 and 100 meant?" Ric nodded with a grim smile. She shook her head in disbelief. "But we're in Colorado, that shouldn't be an issue here."

Ric cocked his head skyward in thought, then looked at Sam. "Like as not you're right; and, I seriously doubt that it'll become an issue. However, there are Muslims here in America, and not all of them are here to live a normal, peaceful life, at least as we account such things... recent history has taught us the truth of that matter." The other SG1 members nodded in agreement. "So, prudence demands that I pay attention to what's going on around me. Hopefully, we'll all have fun, there'll be _no_ problems, and I'll have no cause to use this." He pulled his jacket open, exposing the P226 on his right hip, and a custom, 4 place, fully-stocked magazine holder on his left hip.

Ric looked at Naruto and Hinata. "I really do hope that there'll be no trouble. I don't want to be the reason that your very first outing is anything but pure fun. And, I sincerely hope that your first exposure to our world will leave you with nothing but happy memories." He punctuated his declaration with a small bow.

Hinata and Naruto exchanged glances and shook their heads, Hinata turned towards everyone and replied, "Please don't apologize, we are Konoha shinobi. We've been taught to expect danger at _any_ time, and any place... even in our own households." Hinata smiled. "In a way, you've unintentionally spoiled us. Here at SGC you've gone out of your way to always help us feel safe and unafraid... and welcome." Naruto nodded in agreement and they both bowed to show their thanks. Hinata looked at Ric and continued, "Your situation is a valuable reminder to us that danger can appear without warning, even here. And, that the Shinigami is _always_ at our side, patiently waiting for his moment to claim us."

Ric snorted in amusement; he pointed at Hinata. "Now you sound like my Obasama."

Hinata heard Naruto snort and saw the look on his face. She gave him a warning look that caused Naruto to promptly shut down any quip he was about to utter. She muttered under her breath, "Don't you dare say it."

Naruto rethought his mischievous impulse to call Hinata, Baa-chan... his growing knowledge of girls, and countless memories of getting hit by Sakura for comments about her looks, told him he NEVER wanted to do that to Hinata, even by accident. Unlike with Sakura, he kept his growing feelings for her buried deep. He wasn't worthy of her... yet.

Jack bit his fist to keep from laughing. After a long moment, he regained control of himself and asked, "So, where to first?"

Naruto, with a hopeful look on his face, raised his hand and asked, "Second breakfast?"

As everyone busted out laughing, Ric waved his arm and exclaimed, "Just get in the damn car, we'll figure it out as we go along."

As Naruto moved to enter the Expedition, he asked Ric, "What about Jeri-san, why isn't he going with us?"

Ric gave Naruto a sly smile. "Never fear, he's been given a special mission. We'll be seeing him later on. Besides, he had a few... other matters he had to deal with."

===April 8, 8:45 AM, Konoha General Hospital, ANBU Ward===

The door stayed open long enough for Shizune to see Tsunade sitting by Jiraiya's bed... then the Senior Med-nin got her undivided attention. "What's his status?"

The graying man pushed up his glasses and glanced back at the doorway. "It's not as serious as it could be... but it's bad enough. He's badly dehydrated, has the symptoms of chakra exhaustion, and needs bed rest until I say otherwise." He rechecked the chart he was holding. "I'd also like to bring a Hyuuga in to examine the condition of his chakra coils, there's only so much I can uncover with a diagnostic jutsu."

Shizune frowned in thought. On the one hand, it would be valuable to learn if Jiraiya's heroic deed had cost him too much... on the other hand, this meant letting the Hyuuga Clan know that Konoha's spy master was out of commission... or maybe worse.

Ushiba Okada could see what the Hokage's right hand was thinking; he decided to strike first. "We have someone who's... reliable, and discreet. What she learns will go no farther than the walls of this secure ward."

Shizune gave Okada a dubious look. "Who?"

Okada crossed his arms. "She's from the Main branch, and unless you absolutely need to know, it's better that her name not..."

Shizune growled. "Who?"

Okada sighed and replied in a whisper, "Hakumei Hyuuga."

Shizune's eyebrows twitched; she knew that name... through her gossip network. The current hot rumor was that she had become the secret lover of a very prominent Jonin, who was _not_ a Hyuuga. The rumor was juicy, and dangerous... for Hakumei. Her clan elders would react very poorly to that bit of news, perhaps at the cost of her life. Shizune nodded in agreement with Okada's choice, Hakumei wouldn't talk... no matter what. "Do it." Then she asked the other important question on her mind; she looked back at the door to Jiraiya's room. "When do you think he'll regain consciousness?"

Okada shrugged. "Without knowing the full extent of his injuries... who knows. Granted, he's extraordinarily strong and has probably been hurt far worse at the hands of outraged..." He glanced at the door. "...women." Shizune snickered in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "But I'm hoping, with the best scenario, that after a few days of bed rest, he'll be back to his usual self." Ushiba gave Shizune a twisted, and knowing smile.

Shizune sighed. "Kami above, I hope so."

===11:00 AM, Earth, Colorado Springs, CO, USA, Chapel Hill Mall===

Naruto followed them through a set of glass doors into a 2-story mall that seemed as large as all of Konoha's shopping district, what little he knew of it. On his left was a place called Dick's Sporting Goods, and one long hallway of stores (that he could see) that seemed to go on forever and a second floor with more of the same. Naruto looked at the people walking about... shopping he assumed; it was mostly women, colorfully dressed, and some of them with young children, most without. He pondered that fact until he remembered his talks with Daniel and Jack... they had explained to him how people lived here, the school system and other such things. With a grin, he recalled that it was Friday... that one of things about Earth that was the same as his world... that the days were named, but he had never focused on that aspect. For shinobi, only a date mattered, not the name of the day. He chuckled as he recalled Jack occasionally yelling out, "Where the hell is Friday?" It took him awhile to grasp that bit of Earth culture... but he finally grasped it, especially when he noted the smiles on people's faces as they walked about them. He looked at Hinata and asked, "Wow. Hinata, do we have a place like this?"

"No, the Business District is similar, but this is all inside one building." Hinata replied, looking about in awe as they ventured further into the mall. Glancing up at the ceiling, she noted it with a shinobi's eye... just like in SGC, there was an elaborate network of support beams, all made of metal... she guessed it was steel just like in SGC. Recalling her chats with Sam and Jack, she still marveled at the fact here on this world, they used iron and steel the way they used wood back home. Looking up again, she already missed looking at Earth's blue sky (remarkably similar to theirs), but then she noted the paved floor of the mall and then it hit her... no dirt or dust, no odd or unwholesome smells, and by virtue of the roof overhead... no possibility of rain... or mud. Hinata added a cheerful bounce in her step... she could easily get use to shopping in this fashion.

Naruto suddenly laughed just loud enough to be heard, then stopped when all his friends looked at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking that Ino would be drooling all over herself if she saw this place." Naruto explained with a big goofy grin. He added to that silently, '_I know she'd love all the different colors._' That, he decided, was the biggest difference between Konoha and here... bright colors everywhere; and, shining metal and glass aplenty.

Hinata thought a moment then started giggling. "And she'd be..."

"...dragging Sakura behind her." Naruto added in sync with Hinata, then both of them started laughing.

Everyone but Teal'c stood there smiling a few moments, even though they didn't fully get the reference, they understood the in-joke; only Ric didn't know who the 2 named girls were. Jack announced, "Come on, we've got some shopping to do."

Naruto suddenly stopped laughing and cringed. "Oh yeah... I forgot." Naruto said quietly, a sad tone in his voice.

Hinata saw the sadness on Naruto's face and it almost broke her heart. She scanned the area quickly for something to cheer him up, then got an idea. Hinata suggested, "After we get our new clothes, and other things, can we buy some gifts for our friends when we go home?" Naruto perked up at the idea; she added in a low voice, "Please don't worry Naruto, this isn't Konoha. No one here knows anything about us." Hinata patted the small, reddish-brown shoulder strap purse, that Janet-sensei had lent her. "The only thing that will matter is the amount of money we have." Both of them had gotten a healthy sum of dollars from General Hammond. He'd explained to them that it was a portion of their back pay, owed to them from Tsunade-sama.

Naruto brightened at that bit of truth and his sunny smile returned. "Yeah, you're right Hinata-chan."

With a neutral face, Ric noted Naruto's mood swing. '_Why would someone dread shopping that much?_' He glanced at Jack. '_Hmm... this demands further inquiry_.'

Sam declared, "It'll be fun, trust me... our stores are a little different from yours. As to gifts for your friends, we should discuss that matter later. After all, we'll be coming back here again tomorrow."

Jack, having some idea what Hammond had in mind for Konoha, not to mention Ric and Jeri, kept silent for the moment. Perhaps tonight he could hint that the usual issues concerning cultural contamination might not be a problem... this time.

Hinata nodded at Sam statement. "Okay." She gave Naruto a sly smile. "If we wear clothes from here when we go home, everyone will be so jealous, we might even start a fashion tend. Ino-chan will be begging you to tell her about what you saw." Hinata added, hoping this got him thinking about the side of clothes girls knew all about, and made shopping fun.

Naruto froze, his eyes widening as he imagined all the girls and women of Konoha flocking to him, admiring his fancy new clothes from another planet, and admiring him... and hanging on his every word. A huge foxy grin crossed his face almost ear to ear.

"Remember where we are Naruto." Jack warned him, recognizing that expression on his face... it always led to trouble.

Just as Jack said it, Naruto, without thinking about it, turned and hugged Hinata. "You're a genius Hinata-chan."

Naturally, Hinata blushed bright red. Sam held in her emotions at the scene, her face 'pinking up' a little.

"Come on guys, lets get going." Naruto said excitedly after releasing Hinata, completely missing her reaction... as well as the amused smiles of his friends.

Firmly, but politely, Jack asked, "Okay, just stay close Naruto, and don't go running off to explore on your own."

Naruto just nodded in reply and gave Jack a friendly glare that made the others smile, or laugh.

Hinata was still emotionally floating on a cloud, hearing, but not fully listening to what was going on. The reason: Naruto's hug. She subtly adjusted her coat as they started walking again. It still felt a bit weird, but good, wearing one of her backup coats that she'd removed all of her Clan symbols from. A small part of her felt like she was betraying her mother, but the rest of her wanted to set those tokens on fire and watch them burn.

As bad as it sounded, even to her, Hinata knew that the only connection to her clan was her younger sister Hanabi. She knew they'd be busy turning her into what her father, and the elders deemed to be the perfect example of a Hyuuga Princess. Aside from a few Cadet Branch members she'd known for years, and the one Main Branch member she viewed as an aunt, Hakumei, her emotional attachment to the Hyuuga Clan was minimal, at best. As far as Hinata was concerned, being brought here was the best thing that'd ever happened to her... well, other than meeting Naruto-kun, of course. Frankly, she'd be a basket case right now if it weren't for his support, and his constant encouragement.

As she followed everyone into the second open space they came to, she saw the seemingly endless rows of stores all about them. But what got her attention was a store called 'Build A Bear Workshop', and based on what was in the windows, they custom made stuffed bears. She HAD to go there before they left.

"Hinata, any problems with the contacts?" Sam asked quietly, leaning slightly closer as they walked side-by-side.

Hinata blinked a few times. "No, they're fine... I can barely feel them. Before we leave, can I..." She looked at the display window filled with various types of costumed bears.

"We'll go after the important shopping, then we'll do some real shopping." Sam politely interrupted.

"Thank you Sam." Hinata replied and smiled in anticipation.

* FLASHBACK *

Hinata sat nervously on the Infirmary bed, while she was as excited as she was anxious, it'd been a rough morning emotionally. In addition to her special gift, they were taking her and Naruto out of the base later that morning. She loved being with her new friends... but even she couldn't stand being inside this long. The mission had helped a lot, but she loved being outside in nature. She couldn't imagine how Naruto felt being stuck inside SGC for this long.

Hinata's face lit up when Dr Fraiser walked in holding a small box, followed by Sam.

Dr Fraiser stopped in front of Hinata, a big smile on her face, held up the box and opened it. "Here they are Hinata, do you like the color?" Janet asked.

===3 Minutes Later===

A smiling Janet and Sam stepped into the Infirmary's waiting area. The 6 people in the room stood and faced them, Naruto was in the front, struggling to stay calm. Sam glanced over her left shoulder where Hinata stood, behind her and Janet. "I'd like everyone to meet the new Hinata." Sam announced, then she and Janet stepped aside.

Hinata stepped forward into the open where they could see her, especially Naruto, wearing her shades to hide her eyes. Looking right at Naruto she reached up and removed them, revealing her sparkling blue-green eyes.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

* END FLASHBACK *

Jack came to a halt, turned and addressed the group. "Okay, what do you all think?"

Ric spoke up first. "Okay, I'm no expert on shopping for women's apparel, but I would imagine that Macy's would be a good starting point." Sam nodded in agreement. "And since we have a young gentleman to get kitted out..." He pointed off to his right. "...Dillard's would be a decent start for Naruto."

Daniel smiled and nodded. "I agree. Hey, they took care of Teal'c when he needed a new suit, and he's not exactly the easiest person to fit properly."

"Indeed. And it has served me well since obtaining it." Teal'c gave them all a small smile.

Jack nodded. "I'll take that as an endorsement." Actually, Jack had gone there before but he wasn't one for discussing clothes shopping.

Sam glanced at her watch. "So, how long do you think it will take?"

Jack looked at Naruto, who was staring at the people going up and down the escalator with that look on his face... again. "Hmm... good question." He looked at his watch and turned to Ric. "What do you think?"

"Well, I scouted out one of the maps for this place." He opened a brochure that he had snagged earlier. "Dillard's for casual and semi-formal clothes, and some different, and perhaps nicer shoes... although they do have a CJ Banks store here. It's not Armani, but I think it would fit our needs quite nicely. As to some decent outdoors-style clothes, there's an American Eagle Outfitters here as well... they're not Columbia, but that can come later." Ric smiled to himself as noted some of the other stores in the mall; via his conversations with Naruto and Hinata, he saw some likely targets for today, and tomorrow's foray to the mall.

Ric paused and remembered a comment Naruto had made on the drive over. He glanced at Naruto, who was sneaking towards the escalator. "Naruto, didn't you mention wanting to learn more about basketball?"

Naruto froze and looked back at his friends... Hinata closed on him and dragged him back to the group. He covered up his transgression with an innocent smile. "Hai. You mean the game with the big orange ball, right?"

Jack laughed and shook his head. "Yes Naruto, that game." He enjoyed his occasional one-on-one matches with Daniel, who was a fair opponent. Teal'c enjoyed the game as well, but tended to be much more physical than the game allowed for... in a regulation game he would probably foul out before the first half was over, not that it would help the people he ran over.

Ric looked up from the brochure. "If that's the case, you'll need proper footgear for that. I would probably take him to Dick's... they'll have a better selection than the Foot Locker store." He looked at Hinata. "And, I suspect they have something for you as well."

Sam smiled and gave Hinata a pat on the shoulder. "I go to Dick's when I need a new pair of running shoes." She glanced down at Hinata's small feet. "I'm sure they can help you out."

Ric continued on. "Okay, since we're coming back, lets focus on the basics, and footgear today; then do our special needs and wants shopping tomorrow. If I recall correctly, Hinata mentioned that she wanted to get some things for her room. It might be better to wait for Jeri to arrive later, when we settle in for the night. He'll be borrowing a vehicle that will give us some extra cargo room."

Sam frowned at Ric. "Oh please, we're not buying that much stuff."

Ric smiled impishly at Sam. "That's why I told him not to sign out a deuce and a half."

Sam gave a Ric a sour look; she shot back, "By the way, we haven't discussed where we're staying for the night."

Ric smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "Never fear, I have that angle totally covered, besides... it's a surprise, and I promise that it'll be a pleasant one at that."

Sam looked unconvinced. "So you say." She glanced at Jack. "I remember that one road trip we took..."

Jack raised his hands and exclaimed, "Hey! I thought I apologized for that, twice already in fact. Besides, how was I to know that two drug gangs were going to use that parking lot to throw down on each other."

Sam growled. "I had signed for that vehicle. Do know how many forms I had to fill out? The Motor Pool Sergeant had a cow when we brought back that Suburban with more holes in it than a cheese grater."

Daniel looked at Ric. "Don't ask, please."

Ric shrugged in reply. "Don't worry about it, I understand fully. Jack was involved... misadventures are his forte as I recall."

Jack pouted. "It wasn't my fault."

Naruto and Hinata giggled as quietly as possible.

Ric put his hands on his hips in mock indignation. "Hey there, that's _my_ excuse... not that it's done me much good."

Naruto looked at Hinata as he wiped a tear from his eye. "This is almost as much fun as being with you." Hinata blushed and looked away, thrilled beyond words at Naruto's simple comment.

Teal'c spoke up, "I believe we have a mission to complete."

Sam snorted and motioned to Hinata, "Come on Hinata, we got some shopping to do." Sam stomped off towards Macy's, Hinata following close behind, after waving bye bye to Naruto. Just short of the entrance, Sam spun on the heel and yelled, "Food court, 2 hours from now."

Daniel watched as Sam, with Hinata in tow, entered to store. Once they were safely out of earshot he asked, "Do you think it's too late to phone Jeri and tell him to bring the truck?"

Jack ignored the knowing smile on Ric's face. "Let's go shopping Naruto."

===Macy's===

Sam asked a second time, "Please Hinata, just try it on. I know it'll look pretty on you, and it's the prefect color." She could see the desire in Hinata's eyes... she wanted the blouse, but as usual, her self-imagine issue was raising it's ugly head.

Hinata stared at the blouse Sam was waving about, Sam was right... it was beautiful, and she loved the color. "I don't know, it's much... tighter than I tend to wear."

Sam silently sighed, she decided to play dirty. She looked at the blouse and commented, "It's a pity that it's not in my size." She turned her back on Hinata and moved to return it to the rack. As she put it back in place, Sam commented, "She's been asking about him you know."

Hinata blinked in surprise. "I don't understand, who's been asking about whom?"

Sam fiddled with other blouses on the rack for a bit before replying. Then she let fly. "Sakura." Sam waited a few breaths before adding in low voice, "I've been getting letters from... there. She's been put on their 'gate research team."

Sam waited for a reply and got none, although she could easily imagine the look on Hinata's face. "Frankly, she surprised me. I thought I knew who you, and Naruto were talking about, but I was wrong. She's quite intelligent, and the questions she's asking me are surprisingly insightful." Sam added silently, '_Especially for somebody who's never seen a Stargate before_.'

Sam pulled out the same blouse as before and held it up for examination. "I don't know what happened between the time you left and now, but the Sakura I sensed in those letters is clever, insightful, and she seems worried to death about Naruto... if I didn't know better..." Sam let go of the blouse as it was snatched away.

"I want to try it on... please." Hinata's voice was low, and trembling.

Sam bit her lip and felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Sam thought, '_I think I pushed too many buttons with that one_.' She set her face and turned around. "You don't have to if you're not comfortable with wearing it." The resolve in Hinata's face surprised Sam.

Hinata held the blouse tightly and replied, "That's the problem... the problem with me. I've been uncomfortable about myself, and too many other things for far too long." She loosened her grip on the blouse and ran her fingers over it. "I want to change, but I keep doing the same things all over again. And I know I'll never be as..."

The remainder of her sentence ceased as Sam put a finger to her lips. Sam shook her head. "I'm so sorry Hinata, I said too much. But you're wrong, dead wrong. You're measuring yourself unfairly against others, and disregarding your own strengths, and virtues. And you're far smarter than you give yourself credit for, and frankly, that has to stop. You've done wonders with our training, learned so much on your own, and helped us and Naruto more than you realize... or our ability to repay you."

Sam removed her finger from Hinata's lips and wiped a single tear from Hinata's cheek. "Don't worry about what might be, or what others may say, or think of you. You know who the real Hinata is... stop hiding her and let her have a say once in a while."

Hinata looked at the blouse and smiled. Then she looked at Sam and nodded. "I'll try."

"Good. That's all I ask." Sam grinned and got a thoughtful look. "And, you'll need a pretty skirt, and some matching pants... and shoes, and perhaps something very pretty to wear underneath that blouse." Sam turned and waved to a nearby saleswoman. "Let's get everything you need for the Hinata that is, not was." Sam added silently, '_And for the upcoming fight for Naruto's heart_.'

===Dillard's===

Naruto stepped out of the dressing room. Jack, Teal'c and Ric nodded in approval; Daniel smiled and gave Naruto a thumbs up. Naruto went to the triple mirror and looked at himself... never in his whole life had he ever worn clothing this nice. Smiling, he turned to the right and left, getting a better look at the new outfit Ric had picked out. Jack had teased Ric the whole time, but he pressed on, selecting colors that suited Naruto... even if it wasn't orange.

Jack commented first, "You look sharp, Naruto. Hinata will love it."

Daniel added, "You did a good job Ric, I didn't think I'd ever see Naruto out of that orange jumpsuit."

Teal'c added, "Indeed."

Ric straightened the shoulders on Naruto's new jacket and nodded. "Yes, that shade of gray works for you, and the other set in dark blue as well."

Jack looked at his watch and smirked. "It ought to look good, you spent enough time on it."

Ric snorted dismissively. "Of course it took time, getting something right the first time always does. Besides, this isn't like grabbing some blue jeans and flannel shirts; this is an important step towards projecting a proper imagine. Like it or not, that matters." Ric stepped back and nodded. "Okay, you're ready Naruto. And, if Hinata isn't impressed, I'll sign my next paycheck over to you."

Naruto grinned. "Do you really think Hinata will like it? I've never had anything this fancy before." He ran his hand down the sleeve of his new jacket; he had never felt, or seen anything like it before.

Daniel spoke up, "I'm sure she'll like it."

"Hell Naruto, she might not even recognize you in that outfit." Jack teased.

Naruto's look of alarm disappeared as his stomach growled loudly.

Ric chuckled, "I don't think there'll be any chance of that happening... not with that demanding stomach." Ric looked at his watch. "You guys get going and meet up with the ladies, I'll take care of things here and catch up with you guys presently."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Don't I need to pay for everything?"

Ric waved his hand. "I said I'll take care of it, and I meant it. You save your money for Hinata, dates can be expensive affairs."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Date? But she's not my girlfriend..."

Ric gave him a gentle shove and smiled. "Stop talking nonsense and get going. Lesson number 1... never keep a lady waiting, even if she's late, remember that."

Daniel nodded in agreement, "That's sound advice, Naruto. Let's get going."

===1:33 PM, Upper Level, Cafe Court===

Jack looked about the food court and scanned the crowd. "Okay, the good news is that we got here first.

Ric frowned as he looked at the various vendors. "Typical mall food, but I've seen worse. Oh well, beggars can't choosers... let's grab some tables and slide them together; the ladies should be along shortly, or at least I hope so."

Naruto's stomach growled again... he looked at the different food choices. "Can we eat now?"

Jack rubbed his chin in thought. "While we should wait, it _is_ well past lunch-time." He gave Naruto a knowing look. "But, considering your bottomless stomach, I'm guessing a minor snack won't spoil your appetite."

Ric looked up as he finished fitting two tables together. "I believe I saw a pretzel stand when we first walked in." Ric pointed straight ahead. "And that escalator will take us there... if Naruto will give me a hand, I think we can get the snack issue taken care of in short order." Ric paused and noted that Naruto was already half-way to the mechanical stairs; he turned to the seated men of SG1. "Make the ladies feel welcome should they arrive before our return; I'll make sure he doesn't get cheese sauce all over his new duds in the mean time." At that, Ric set out to snag Naruto and minimize any potential mayhem.

Jack scanned the various vendors as Daniel watched Ric bag Naruto... just before he reached the escalator. Jack shifted in his chair. "So, what do you guys feel like?"

Teal'c stood up and replied, "Chinese. Two large wonton soups should be enough until Sam and Hinata arrive."

Daniel looked to his left. "Something from Orange Julius sounds good... do you want me to get you something?"

Jack looked at his watch again. "May as well... make it a large."

===Macy's===

Sam nodded approvingly. "Yes, much better. How do they feel, Hinata?"

Hinata looked down at the specially-positioned mirror and moved her feet, shod in dark blue flat-heeled ballet pumps. "These feel much better, I like the color too."

Sam smiled and turned to the sales clerk. "Thank you, it's just what she needed."

The older woman smiled and nodded in agreement. "It's quite alright, some women just aren't meant to wear heels." The older clerk had shooed off the previous, younger clerk who had repeatedly tried to get Hinata into fashionable higher-heeled shoes... with near-disastrous results. "Besides, her feet will thank her at the end of the day." The clerk lowered her voice. "Fashion aside, I can't imagine the young lady wearing those instruments of torture they call shoes these days."

Sam kept a straight face as she nodded in agreement; she had a closet full of said shoes... and yes, half the time, her feet were screaming at her after wearing them for any length of time, even though they made her feel pretty, and showed off her legs. She mused that Hinata would need time, and practice, to wear anything with more than 1" heel. She thought, '_Hinata already has a naturally graceful gait, I'd be a shame to mess with that by sticking her in heels_.'

The clerk turned to Hinata. "I have a pair in black in the same size, did you want to try them on as well?"

Hinata looked at Sam, who nodded in approval. "You should get the black ones as well, it's a color that goes with everything. As a matter of fact, you can wear those when we meet up with the guys. You should keep the ones you're wearing for special occasions... or when you want to feel pretty."

Hinata smiled, then checked her watch and frowned. "We're a little late, aren't we?"

Sam snorted. "Don't worry about it. Besides, we're almost done anyway... at least for today. And, now that we know the proper size for you, getting some decent athletic shoes will be a snap. Don't forget Hinata, it's the fate of men to wait, it's in their job description."

Hinata giggled in agreement. "Hai."

===Cafe Court===

Jack watched Naruto longingly stare at the large plate of pork fried rice Teal'c was enjoying (his second one); he discretely checked his watch...

Ric grinned and started cleaning up the wrappers and empty cups... the remains of Naruto's snack of 5 pretzels. "You'd better get him some chow before he takes a bite out of somebody's arm."

Jack sighed and nodded. "Come on Naruto, let's get you something from Steak n'Bake... like a triple cheeseburger."

Naruto's eyes sparkled. "They make _triple_ cheeseburgers...?" He asked with wonder in his voice.

Daniel and Ric shared a chuckle as Jack chased after Naruto... in vain.

===Macy's===

Sam's sharp eyes noted that Hinata had slowed down... and was staring at a mannequin wearing a green plaid, mid-length pleated skirt. Rounding back, Sam stood behind Hinata and whispered, "You want it, don't you?"

Hinata reached out and touched it, she was fascinated by the interwoven lines of dark yellow, red, black and crossed bands of lighter green. "It's very pretty..." She noted that the hem was an easy 2" above the knee. "It's a bit short though."

Sam gave Hinata a gentle push. "Nonsense. It's perfect for you, and it matches that sweater you got earlier." Sam spotted the rack where it sisters awaited. "Come on, let's get it."

===Cafe Court===

Ric asked, "So, when do we send out the search party?"

Jack checked his watch. "I'll give 'em another 15 minutes, then I'll give Sam a call on her cell phone."

Daniel spoke up. "Don't bother, they're here." He pointed to the entrance of the food court as Sam, carrying 2 large bags and Hinata, carrying one large and one small bag, walked straight towards them... and looking rather pleased with themselves.

Jack held up his arm and tapped his wristwatch meaningfully. "What happened to, 'meet you in 2 hours'?"

Ric remarked to himself aloud, "Good thing I got the extended body version of my SUV."

Sam replied, "Hey, we got some important shopping in today."

Hinata smiled and set her bags down next to Naruto. "You look very nice Naruto." She leaned forward and added in a whisper, "Sam helped me get a whole new set of clothes, you'll see them later."

Naruto grinned and stood up, helping Hinata with her chair. "Are you hungry, Hinata-chan?" She nodded vigorously in reply. "What do you want, I'll get it for you."

Hinata glanced about. "What's a Chick-Fil-A?"

Sam replied, "They specialize in chicken-based food, I think they're pretty good myself."

Jack added, "Their waffle fries are pretty good too."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Waffle fries...?"

Daniel laughed at the look on Naruto's face. "No Naruto, they're not the size of waffles." He recalled, with amazement their first stop of the day... at a Waffle House. Naruto had demolished a pecan waffle... and a 3-egg Cheese Steak Omelet, with 2 orders of cheese covered hash browns. He thought to himself, '_The way he puts food away, you'd think he was eating for two_.'

===Naruto's Mindscape===

Meanwhile, Kyuubi was licking her lips. "**Mmm... waffles**." She had long since fallen in love with the food of this new world... and now, triple cheeseburgers. She longed for the day she could leave her cage and go wild with some of the dishes she recalled Naruto enjoying. If they though Naruto could eat... wait until they saw her feast.

Her mind then turned to the subject of the newcomer, the man called Ric. Her interest in him was growing... and his open kindness to her host, added to the kindnesses of Naruto's other friends, had turned her mind back her younger days she when had roamed freely through Naruto's world... flashes of various faces she had met long ago began to come to her. The man's odd gray eyes teased her memory...

===Real World===

Hinata stood up and grabbed Naruto's hand. "Let's go see." She promptly dragged a surprised, but smiling Naruto off.

Ric's eyebrows went up; he remarked, "Hmm... that's a sudden burst of boldness." He shifted his gaze to Sam. "I wonder what brought that on...?"

Sam looked over her shoulder before replying; she had a frown on her face. "I accidentally pushed too many buttons on Hinata... I was hoping for her to willingly step outside her comfort zone, but it nearly backfired on me."

Teal'c observed, "She seems happy enough now."

Daniel added, "She's changed a lot since she first arrived here; Hinata's almost a completely different person now."

Ric stirred in his chair and leaned forward. His voice was polite, but commanding. "Tell me more; I suspect there are issues concerning Hinata... and Naruto, that I need to know more about."

Jack looked over at the short queue that Naruto and Hinata had joined, then turned his gaze back to Ric. "Later, okay? They'll be back shortly." Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam exchanged looks, none of them imagined that Ric, or worse... Jeri, who had taken on a fatherly role with Naruto, was going to like what they had learned... let alone what Janet had obliquely hinted at.

Ric nodded. "I'll hold you to that. Their bios don't tell me jack shit, compared to what I've sensed about them."

Not for the first time, Jack cursed his friend's sharp eyes, and perceptiveness.

x

After everyone had eaten, the members of SG1 split up... Sam and Hinata, minus their shopping bags which Ric and Teal'c had run back to the SUV to stash away, had taken off in one direction. Sam had given Naruto a wink when he asked where they were going, a simple explanation, "Girl stuff." Daniel and Teal'c had decided to head over to Border's... the former to go book-hunting, the latter to check out the new music releases, and augment his collection of jazz music. The remaining trio of Naruto, Jack and Ric decided amongst themselves to engage in a little guy shopping.

===GameStop===

Naruto came to a halt a few steps into the shop. "Whoa." Naruto had long since come to love his PlayStation 2, and the modest collection of games Jack had gotten for him. This however, was a whole new level for him.

Exchanging amused looks, Jack and Ric stood back and watched Naruto begin scanning the display racks. Ric smiled as he looked about. "What kind of games have you gotten him?"

Jack replied, "Some fighting games and such... I wanted to bring him here earlier, but with the restrictions and all... well, I just went with what I figured he'd like."

Ric nodded. "Yeah, even though I'm a newbie to the team, I can see the importance of keeping Naruto from getting bored."

Jack snorted and shook his head. "You have _no_ idea... Hinata told us privately that Naruto was one of the more notorious pranksters in his village. Hell, their special enforcement teams probably spent half their time chasing his ass around the place." He glanced at Ric. "Did you have something in mind for him?"

Ric nodded. "Yeah. While I can appreciate the merits of keeping him entertained, I think that we could also use some of these video games as teaching and evaluation tools... for both of them."

Jack replied, "You think so?"

Ric looked about the shop. "Yup. I'm not a serious video gamer myself, but while I was in Moscow, I'd hang out with some of the folks at the embassy. One of the younger guys in 'the shop'* had a collection of different platforms, both original Japanese units, and some American models... and a bunch of different games. A couple of the ones I played had strong decision-making, and tactical aspects to them... and were surprisingly hard to master.

(*E/N: slang for a CIA operations cell)

Ric moved to a different part of the shop and starting searching... after several minutes, he had acquired 2 games. "Yes, these will do quite nicely."

Jack looked at the covers and frowned. "Final Fantasy Tactics... and Front Mission 2? They're not even the same genre, why them?"

Ric smiled slyly. "Right, and wrong, my friend. They may look different, but they both have the same strong underlying premise... battlefield tactics, decision-making, and skill development. The FFT game is more to the tech level I suspect they're use to, but the other game involves future tech... yes, I think these will do quite nicely." Ric looked about again. "Aha, there they are... let's see if they have walk-through manuals for these games."

Jack glanced back at Naruto, who had a couple of games in hand already, then turned his attention back to Ric... spinning a display rack for cheat books. Jack walked towards Naruto and smiled. '_This should be interesting_.'

===Victoria's Secret===

Hinata fought to control her blush as she walked behind Sam. This particular store seemed a lot like the Iron Kimono back in Konoha... but it obviously specialized in undergarments, among other things. She noticed Sam holding up, and examining a cherry-red thong. "Ano... Sam, is it supposed to be missing the back... portion?"

Sam grinned. "That's the idea."

Hinata visualized herself wearing it... and modeling it for Naruto... and turned a brighter shade of red. In a low voice, she asked, "It's awfully daring."

Sam nodded and looked at Hinata. "Don't worry, it's not for you. You're a bit... young for something like this." Sam got a thoughtful look on her face. "Although... if you wanted to capture Naruto's attention, this would do quite nicely." Sam noted Hinata's blush, and averted gaze. '_I really shouldn't tease her like this_.' She put the thong back on the rack. "Perhaps something lacy, and more modest might be better."

Hinata nodded vigorously. "Hai."

===5:30 PM, Chapel Hill Mall Parking Lot===

After some rearranging, Ric and Jack got everything into the SUV... with Ric commenting that perhaps, he should have gotten the Ford Excursion instead.

As they all climbed in and got seated, Sam asked, "I thought Jeri was going to join us?"

Ric buckled up and checked his mirrors before answering; he had said something about that as they left SGC, but it couldn't hurt to remind them. "Actually, we'll be joining him... sorta. He's at our final destination for today." Ric checked his watch and frowned. "It's a bit later than I hoped for... I'll need to call him on the way over."

Sam spoke up. "You still haven't said where we're going." She immediately turned to Jack. "What do you know about this?"

Ric replied over his shoulder, "Don't bother, I've sworn him to secrecy on that subject."

Jack nodded and grinned, "I don't know nuthin'."

Sam growled out, "This better not end up with another shoot-out in a parking lot."

Jack groaned and looked out the window in a sulk. Naruto and Hinata's giggles filled in interior of the SUV.

===7:00 PM, 23 Miles SW of Colorado Springs===

Sam commented, "You do realize we're inside a National Park?"

Ric nodded and made a turn down an unmarked gravel road. "Never fear, you'll understand in a little while." Shortly after the turn-off, he stopped long enough to enter a code into a keypad installed underneath a tall mailbox. That done, he continued on with the road winding uphill, bordered on both sides by brush and tall, old conifer trees. After about a half mile, Ric engaged the 4-wheel drive as the road got steeper.

Naruto and Hinata traded quiet comments as the SUV made its way uphill through the forest, it wasn't quite like Konoha, but it was as close to anything they had gotten near to yet. A part of Hinata could sense that it was a old forest, but unlike Konoha, they were in the midst of high hills... bordering on mountains. The gathering darkness over the forest around them gave it an ancient feel. Through Ric's open window, both she and Naruto could smell the forest... and it gave her a momentary twinge of home-sickness.

After several minutes of climbing the switch-backed gravel road, the trees suddenly thinned out, exposing the darkening sky; the high hills to the west were now outlined by the remaining sliver of daylight. Everyone within the SUV could see a well-lit, low rambling building on the hill-top ahead, punctuated by a short, squarish stone watch tower, and a lone tall tree barely visible in the darkness, behind the building.

Daniel asked, "Is that a Ranger Station?"

Ric replied, "It was a station, back in the 1920's. My great-grandfather bought it from the US Park Service in 1931. As hungry as the Feds were for money back then, he snapped it up for next to nothing. Granted, it had been abandoned for about 3 plus years, but it was still in good condition. They built things to last back then... even so, over the years it been expanded to about triple its original size, and the watch-tower was remodeled into a lounge and such. By the way everyone, welcome to the O'Donnell family's hunting lodge."

As they got closer, everyone noticed Jeri, framed by a lit doorway, waving at them. Next to the building was a small gravel parking lot, and a lone blue-colored government SUV; Ric parked his vehicle next to it.

Jeri ambled up holding an open bottle of beer. "I was beginning to wonder when you guys were gonna show. Fortunately, most of the dinner I cooked up could sit in the oven." Jeri did a double-take as Naruto got out of the SUV. "Who the hell is that..." Jeri said with a smile. "...oh, it's you Naruto. I almost didn't recognize you in that Sunday go-to-meet'n suit." Jeri tousled Naruto's spiky hair. "We're gonna have' ta do something about this mess as well."

Naruto yelled, "No way!" And backed up covering his head with his hands as Jeri made a snipping motion with his fingers.

Jack yelled from the back of the vehicle, "Everybody come and claim your stuff. Give us a hand, Sergeant... the ladies went shopping."

Jeri handed his beer off to Ric. "Do I need a forklift?"

Naruto and Hinata giggled as Sam walked by, carrying her over-nite bag and one of the bags from Macy's. She shook her head and muttered, "men". As she passed Ric, she quietly remarked, "I take back what I said earlier, this is way better than any no-tell motel Jack could get us stuck in."

Ric nodded graciously and replied, "You're welcome. Just put the bags in the central room for the moment... I'll assign rooms after dinner, there's more than enough space for everybody." Ric added after a moment of thought, "However, if you and Hinata need to change before dinner, I'll direct you to the master bedroom." Ric smiled as he watched Hinata politely fend Naruto off as he tried to peek and paw through Hinata's shopping bags. '_I guess somebody wants to make a grand entrance_.'

Sam momentarily halted, "Thanks, we'll take you up on that offer."

Ric thought about the coming dinner, and what was on the menu... and Naruto's new suit. "Hey Naruto, come with me when you get your stuff, you'll need to change for dinner." Ric smiled as an idea came to him. "I'll give you my old room when I used to come here regularly."

Grinning, with bags in hand, Naruto replied, "Okay."

===8:30 PM, Dining Room, O'Donnell Lodge===

"Have a seat Naruto." Jack motioned to the empty chair beside him. "Dinner will be ready shortly."

Naruto scanned the large room, like the rest of the lodge, and the room Ric had led him to, everything seemed to be made of wood, and rough-cut stone blocks. The paneled walls were adorned with framed photographs, old and new, and other odd objects. "Where's Teal'c, Ric, and Jeri?"

"They're in the kitchen, getting everything ready to bring out; Teal'c volunteered to help carry it all in." Daniel replied after sampling the wine Ric had given everyone.

Naruto sniffed the air. "Something smells pretty good." He tried to place the odors and nothing came to mind.

Inside Naruto, the Kyuubi stirred and an eye popped open as Naruto's senses reached her. She thought, '_**Oh Kami... that smells wonderful.**_' Her longing to escape the seal ramped up.

Jack took a pull on his beer and grinned. "Jeri said we're having genuine Memphis BBQ tonight, among other things."

Naruto looked at the long dinner table, full with place settings and glasses, and frowned in confusion. "Then where's the grill going to go?"

Ric walked in holding two large, thick ceramic bowls, with oven mitts. "It's not that kind of BBQ, Naruto."

Jack and Daniel exchanged puzzled looks. Jack asked, "What's Naruto talking about?"

Ric chuckled and set the bowls down, the first one was piled high with mashed potatoes, smelling of garlic, and had a large hunk of butter sticking in the center of the creamy white peak. The other bowl was full of french-cut green beans, liberally laced with bits of bacon. "I believe he's referring to the hibachi's used in Korean-style grilling." As Ric headed back to the kitchen, he added, "No Naruto, it's not that style of BBQ..." He grinned widely. "...it's much, much better."

Naruto thought about the restaurant he, and Team 7 had gone to a few times... his stomach growled loudly. "Okay, if you say so." He sat down next to Jack and sniffed the air again... and began drooling in anticipation.

Sam appeared in the other doorway. "Stand by everybody, the new Hinata is here." At that, she stepped aside to reveal Hinata wearing a moss-green cable sweater, the plaid skirt she been eyeing, white knee socks and the black pumps she'd gotten at Macy's. Sam's final touch was some light make-up to high-light Hinata's best features... besides being very attractive.

Jack grinned and clapped softly, Daniel and Naruto joined in. Jack commented first. "Very nice... you're forgiven for being an hour late today."

Daniel stole a glance at Naruto, who was staring wide-eyed at Hinata's transformation. "You look great Hinata, Earth-style clothing suits you well." He turned towards the kitchen and called out, "The ladies are here, with bells on."

Jeri's voice from the kitchen responded, "Good, these ribs are pert near ready to fall off the bone."

Grinning, Jack nudged Naruto. "Aren't you going to say something?"

Naruto gulped and kept his response simple. "She's... you're beautiful, Hinata-chan." Though he said nothing aloud, for the first time he'd laid eyes on her... he noted that Hinata had... curves in all the right places.

Hinata's reply was equally simple, she blushed light red and softly said, "Thank you, Naruto."

Jack blinked in surprise. '_Whoa, she didn't faint dead away_.' He suggested, "There's an empty chair next to Naruto." Hinata took the hint and immediately sat down beside him.

Jeri appeared gloved, bearing a huge stoneware platter piled high with seasoned pork ribs. "Dinner's ready..." He paused for moment. "Well now, ain't somebody as purdy as a field of spring flowers." He continued in and set the platter down.

Teal'c, then Ric, appeared carrying more bowls of sides, and a large apple pie. Teal'c looked at Hinata. "Indeed, most impressive."

Ric set the pie down and rubbed his chin. "I concur. However, I'd better get some more napkins... and rustle up some bibs for our lovely ladies. It would be a shame to see their fine new clothes get dirty."

===An hour and a half later===

Hinata giggled at Naruto's heroic burp; Jack shook his head as he wiped his hands. Jeri laughed and lightly slapped the table. "I'll take that as praise, Naruto. Damn son, I tain't never seen nobody eat 2 slabs of ribs... 'cept maybe Uncle Jethro, and everything else besides."

Inside Naruto, the Kyuubi chuckled. "**If I was at that table... that whole platter of ribs would have mine... all MINE!**" She let out a sexy groan as she replayed Naruto's memory of the dinner... again. She half-promised herself that if the fox-haired older man ever cooked her a dinner like that... she'd give him a night of love-making in exchange that he'd never forget.

Sam pulled off her bib. "It was a wonderful meal, thank you." Everyone else, except Naruto, echoed that sentiment... he was looking dreamy-eyed at the pile of bones next to his finally empty plate.

At the head of the table, Ric lit up a Kazbek and nodded at Jeri. "That was a hell of a meal Jeri, it's a pity we don't have some special to wash it down with."

Jeri took the hint and leaned back in his chair. "Well now, I might be able to fix that. I've been in-country long enough to get something from home. Special delivery mind you..."

Jack stirred out of his near meat-coma and looked at Jeri. "Your not just teasing us, are you?"

Jeri gave Jack an amused frown. "There are some things I don't josh about... shine being one of them."

Sam cocked an eyebrow. "You know moon shiners?"

Jeri's laugh shook the room; Ric joined him and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. Jeri replied, "Ma'am, I come from a family of shiners... going back to before we first got off the boat to the New World in 1723." At that, he stood up and headed off to the kitchen.

Sam thought about that for a few moments, then her eyes widened. She looked at Jack and pointed. "I knew it, I knew you were drunk when you called me at 4 in the morning!"

Ric chuckled. "You are so busted."

Jack shrugged in reply. "After a jar of Jeri's shine, I won't care." He added silently, '_If I can get Sam to join us, she won't care either... and after the kids are in bed, maybe she'll even show a little skin... if we're lucky._'

Hinata looked about the table, slightly drowsy from the wondrous meal she had eaten. "What's shine?"

Jeri walked in holding two full mason jars. "There's only one way to find out."

Sam frowned at that. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? I got my first taste at 10." Jeri replied.

Hinata supplied helpfully, "I'm 13, and an adult... or at least in Konoha I am."

Jeri smiled, "Well then, that settles that."

Sam growled out. "One glass... a small one."

Naruto shook his head to clear it and looked around the table at everyone, then focused on Jeri. He pointed at the two jars he was holding. "Is that more dessert?"

The lodge echoed with laughter.

===April 11, 11:30 AM, Rokkaku Family Estate, Shiga Prefecture, Japan===

Eriko knelt and bowed low. "You requested my presence, Obasama?"

Mae Von Krieger frowned behind her fan. "Yes my child. I have a task for you, and a very important one at that." She pointed to an envelope laying on the low table before her.

Bowing again, Eriko picked up the envelope and tucked it into the sleeve of her kimono. Glancing up at her grandmother, Eriko asked, "Are there any special details I should be aware of?"

Mae-sama tapped her chin with her now closed fan. "Hmm... yes. Dress warmly. The instructions for the mission within will explain all.

"Hai, Kage-sama." Eriko bowed a final time and skillfully backed out of Obasama's private study.

===Saturday, April 12 3:40 AM, GUVD HQ, Moscow===

Mayór Zelynski walked into Moscow's Central Police HQ with a less-than-cheery demeanor... then again, getting yanked out of a warm bed will do that to you. Flashing his FSB identity papers to anyone diligent enough to question his presence there, his status got him fast-tracked to his final destination... a lesser-known holding cell with one occupant, a blurry-eyed and disheveled Irina Lebed sitting on a metal bench... with a conspicuous bruise growing on her left cheek.

Zelynski turned to the Militsiya Kapitan he'd acquired along the way and came to the point. "What are the charges?"

The Moscow police captain, with a healthy respect (and fear of...) for the FSB, came to attention and recited the charges, "Public drunkenness, assault, destruction of private property..."

He was cut off by wave of Zelynski's hand. "Where did this happen, and are any complications?"

The Kapitan swallowed audibly. "The Imperia Lounge, and the man she assaulted... she broke both his arms and probably his right knee as well... is the eldest son of Maksim Fedorov."

'_Chërt voz'mí!_' Zelynski swore silently. That was all he needed, the spoiled brat of one of Russia's ten richest men, in the hospital. "Witnesses to the incident?"

The Kapitan pulled out a notebook and leafed through it. "I have an statement from an English businessman that..." He glanced at Irina. "...Kapitan Lebed reacted badly to an..." The police captain cleared his throat. "...rather vulgar invitation from..."

Zelynski raised his hand, silencing the sweating officer. "Enough. It's not our problem if some durák of a rich pretty boy doesn't know when to leave well enough alone." He added silently, '_The fool is lucky to still be alive after hitting her_.' He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "Here is your authorization. She is to be released into my custody." Nikolai Zelynski handed the document over. "She'll be under house arrest until further notice." He turned and looked at the Kapitan. "The incident ends here; your memory of my visit..." He then pointed at Irina. "...or Kapitan Lebed's presence in this building no longer exists." He gave the Militsiya Kapitan a look that would freeze fire. "Do you have any questions of me?"

The officer came to attention and saluted crispy. "Nyet, Tovarishch Mayór."

Nikolai nodded and favored the Kapitan with a smile. "Khorosho."

x

End Chapter 9

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**Author's Comments: Reviewer replies.**

So you want to be an Author - Those issues have been corrected, in case you never checked my profile or reread them. If not, please do so, I think you'll enjoy it more this time.

Skipper 1337 - Yes I'm going slow this time, this is my most serious fic to date (concerning plot, etc...), I also thought like-wise on the chan/kun issue, but I found out otherwise, which fits the Japanese 'flavor' of the fic. The Kak/Kur pairing isn't a preference, it just came out that way as the story was being developed. (and they ARE the Sensei's of our 2 favorite genin).

Rixxell Stryfe - Thanks.. and you make my brain hurt... :P ...basically, same as below.

That's it for the specific replies, I want to give a big thanks to all the reviewers that love the fic and it's quality, and a public shout out, with major props, to my editor without whom... this fic would probably suck... if it was posted at all.

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Editor's Note: Yeah, yeah... I know it's been well over a month since the last chapter. Blame my class-work, sitting in a computer lab until 10 PM on week-night sucks, but that's what happens when the school uses software you don't have... and their 'virtual lab' stinks on ice (sorta like trying to play badminton in a pool full of molasses). Frankly, I'd have better luck building a nuke through a screen door. Anyway, my end of the work is done and I hope it's to your liking.

Once again, thanks to all the new reviewers, and it's good to see that all the effort put into this fanfic is appreciated. BTW... what's up with some of you reviewers not having this fic on your 'favs' list? Come on, spread the word, please.

A few replies from me:

lostandthedamned - Glad you like them. I hope to prove (among other things) that OCs _can_ enhance a story, and that giving them 'depth' _does_ matter. And, expect more development of Jeri, I've not been giving him the attention he deserves. At any rate, Naruto's (Shotokan) karate lessons will be starting soon.

narutorasatard - Well, once again, thanks. Don't worry, it gets even better.

sterata - just be patient... some of the clues have been already dropped, there's more to come, and one of the 'deep plots' of the story is on the verge of hitting.

x-marks-the-spot1974 - Yup... eventually. It'll be great fun for all.

Elfen Sky - Glad to see we exceeded your expectations.

Rixxell Stryfe - A minor point, but all the OCs created by me are my job to develop, and all of their attached story elements. Never-the-less, thank you for your kind words. As to your other points, just wait... the real story is yet to be revealed, and it's a doozy.

And as to the final 'Russian' scene in chapter 7, you couldn't more wrong. Re-read the scene again, all of the clues are present. As to the other points you made, I'll let the author address them.

Chargone - Ah, come on... you can do it. There must be _something_ that's caught your interest.

Malix2 - Ask and ye shall receive... enjoy.

Firey Son of Hades - Really...? Hmm... well then, let's see what you think of the later chapters eh? I look forward to your thoughts, once you dive into the other chapters of the fic.

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	10. Discoveries

Ninjagate

Discoveries

By: MikeJV37

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===April 8, 11:35 AM, Somewhere in the Land of Sound===

Sitting on a throne-like chair of polished white marble, Orochimaru watched with interest as his prize creation struck the finishing blow on his latest opponent. He commented to himself, "He was a strong one, he lasted nearly a half an hour." '_Perhaps I should send my agents amongst the Fuuma more often._' His musings about deceiving more of the impoverished members of a once-powerful Shinobi Clan were cut short as Orochimaru sensed the approach of his favored subordinate, Kabuto.

Keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the circular pit below him, he licked his lips slowly as Sasuke toweled off his sweaty, unclothed upper body. '_Yes, he will be perfect for me when the time comes... such a beautiful, firm young body..._' He ceased his train of thought as he noted Kabuto to his right, a few arms-length away. "I trust you have more useful news for me since your last report." Orochimaru's words came out as a low sibilant whisper.

Kabuto braced himself before he replied. His past efforts to satisfy his master had come up short. He knew better than anyone that disappointing Orochimaru, even once, was not the sure path to a long life. He bowed deeply before replying, "Hai, Orochimaru-sama. Your source in Konoha has confirmed through his ally that Naruto Uzumaki's apartment has been emptied, and his meager possessions disposed of. And, his 'missing' status has been secretly converted to deceased, and the records sealed." Kabuto held his breath as he awaited his master's response.

"Ah, what a pity. The things I could have done with a Jinchuuriki... and such a handsome young vessel too. He would have given me so much entertainment." He let out a hissing sigh. His thoughts briefly turned to the true leader of Akatsuki... Madara. He chuckled softly, "Kukukukuku." He added silently, '_Oh my poor Tobi, whatever shall you do now?_'

While Orochimaru didn't know the full reason for it, he did know that Madara was obsessed with capturing the Kyuubi's vessel alive, and perhaps the other Jinchuuriki's as well... he had discovered a secret journal that was mostly encrypted. However, he was able to discern enough of it to know that it was grand in scope. But whatever the ultimate plan was, it was seriously derailed by the loss of the Nine-Tails, that much he was very sure of.

Kabuto noted the look on his master's face, and his reaction to the information and suppressed a shudder. He had learned long ago that there were some things, and questions, left unanswered. He flicked a glance at Orochimaru's prize toy, and his future body, Sasuke Uchiha, preparing for the next unfortunate soul to enter the pit. The lifeless example of his latest display of skill had already been dragged out by some Oto Genin; he ventured a simple question, "Are you going to tell him?"

Orochimaru smiled slyly. "No, not yet." His face turned thoughtful... sometimes a dangerous thing... for someone. "No, his foolish rivalry with that... formerly alive boy added spice to his efforts to exceed Itachi." Orochimaru frowned and looked at Kabuto. "Issue an order that no one is to discuss the subject, either to him, or in his presence, or risk my displeasure." He sighed and added, "Yes, yes... I know it will only delay the news from reaching his ears, but I want his lovely rage to go on a bit longer."

Kabuto quietly sighed. "Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

===Friday, April 11, 10:44 PM, O'Donnell Lodge===

The post-dinner portion of the evening was moving along quite nicely; everyone got a small glass of shine to sample, with varying results. Teal'c had taken a polite sip and put the glass aside; his exposure to Tau'ri alcohol was limited at best... but there was something about Jeri's offering that made him flinch, which puzzled him. After thanking Jeri, but deferring the rest of his drink, he decided to ask Jeri later about the components of the clear liquid before him.

Daniel, on the other hand, being the adventurous academic, took a sip, followed by another sip, and then after further samplings... asked for a second round. Sam gave her glass a dubious eye before having a go at it. The spectators at the table broke into two camps; Hinata and Naruto were watching with obvious (amused) interest, and Jeri, Jack, and Ric. They were content to observe Sam with feigned disinterest... while enjoying their own drinks.

Jack snorted in amusement. "It's not poisoned, Sam. It's actually pretty good." Jeri nodded his head in acknowledgment of Jack's praise. "And, it won't make you do anything... weird." He added silently, "_Probably_."

Ric broke his silence. "Although... if you drink enough of it, you _will_ see neutrinos..."

Jeri finished the sentence and stretched out his arms. "...and they're _this_ long."

Daniel snorted into his glass and took a swig, watching as Hinata lifted the tumbler to her nose, sniffing the contents; he grinned behind his fist as Hinata took a tiny sip.

Sam gave them all an arched eyebrow. "What would a bunch of mud puppies know about particle physics..." She punctuated her comment by downing the contents of her over-sized shot glass in one go. The remainder of Sam's retort died in her throat as her eyes shot open, her face turned a vibrant shade of pink, and after a long moment of seeming paralysis... let out a loud exhale.

Jeri chuckled as he leaned forward in his chair. "Daym woman, that ain't low-rent shine y'or drink'n. Ya'll supposed be slip'en it." He demonstrated with a polite slurp from his own glass.

Jack took a sip of his own and grinned. "Good and smooth, eh?"

Naruto and Hinata exchanged glances and took a sip together; Naruto, having drunk sake at Kakashi-sensei's urging, braced himself... and was pleasantly surprised. Unlike the rough, fiery brew Kakashi favored, Jeri's offering was sweet and warm; although Naruto did feel his ears begin to heat up shortly after he swallowed.

Hinata rolled the sweet liquid over her tongue; unlike Naruto and Kakashi, the quality of sake she had been introduced to at formal family dinners was vastly higher. Trained by her father from an early age, she reflexively tested her sample for any harmful additions. Besides the obvious alcohol content, she noted the taste of unknown herbs, berries, and what seemed to be... tree bark. Her avid interest in herbal compounds was tickled by the unknown additives in Jeri's... shine. Hinata smiled as she felt a comforting warmth spread through her.

Sam, her breathing finally restored, stared at her empty glass. After a few seconds of contemplation, she held out her glass. "Gimme some more... please."

===April 9, 2:40 AM, Konoha Business District===

With neither comment, nor sound, two cloaked figures made their way through the interwoven alley-ways until they reached the rear of a small, plain-looking building. The lead figure, pausing only long enough to push some chakra into a seal hidden beside the door handle, went inside with a second figure close on their heels. Silently, they went down a short hallway ending in a door; after that, down a set of stairs ending in a well-lit storage cellar.

Without looking backwards, Kiba sniffed and announced, "You're late, Tenten." Akamaru, laying within a side-ways open crate stirred, opened one eye, and let out a growl. Kiba spun in his chair just as the second figure dropped her cowl. "What the hell!" Kiba's exclamation caused Shino's head to rise up enough for his shaded eyes to clear the collar of his jacket. Kiba shot out of his chair. "What in the name of Kami is _she_ doing here?"

Tenten sighed as she laid her cloak down on an open crate full of neatly stacked bowls. "Will you calm down Kiba, you're going to wake half of Konoha if you yell any louder." Shino nodded in agreement. "Besides... do you honestly think I'd bring somebody here that wasn't on our side?"

Shino stood up and moved towards the newcomers, looking at Tenten. "Explain, please."

Temari stepped forward. "I have information concerning Naruto and Hinata's current status." Her eyes flicked over to a far wall, covered with scribbled notes and a map of Konoha. "From the Hokage no less."

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Why would she tell you anything?" The hostility in his voice grew. "You were with _them_..." His comment was cut short as Temari, still wearing her cloak, sunk to her knees and bowed low. Kiba's eyes briefly widened at the gesture; the Temari he remembered would rather have died than humble herself so.

Still kneeling Temari replied, "Because Tsunade-sama knows of, and acknowledges the bond between Naruto and Gaara." Shino's eyebrows rose at her choice of honorific. "Naruto had _no_ reason to save my brother... and every reason to kill him. After we received word that Naruto had been declared missing, Gaara asked me to come here and learn the truth of the matter."

Temari's chin sunk to her chest. "I realize the wounds between Suna and Konoha are far from healed, and that we may bear the shame of our actions for a generation, if we're lucky." Temari looked up again. "But the changes in my brother _are_ real, and for that, Naruto has my goodwill for as long as he desires it." Temari rose to her feet. "Kami's breath on my shoulder, Gaara even has Genin kunoichi fighting to gain his attention, and his favor."

Kiba's eyebrows twitched. His mind went back to his first encounter with the homicidal red-head from Suna. "No way."

Tenten sniggered. "Wow, who'd have thought that Kiba, the biggest stud in Konoha would get aced out by..."

Her comment snapped off at Kiba's angry growl. "Don't you even..." Akamaru arfed at him; causing Kiba to spin on his heel. "You shut up too!" Kiba sunk into a squat and put his head in his hands. "I'll never hear the end of this if mom finds out."

Temari felt a momentary twinge of pity for the dog-nin. She decided to use the moment. "I promise that she'll never hear of it from me." Tenten and Shino added their pledges to Temari's.

Shino pulled out a chair and motioned to it. "Please sit and tell us what you know."

Temari gave them a tiny grin and sat down. "Certainly, in exchange for the details concerning Naruto's, and Hyuuga heir's disappearance." She noted the expressions on the their faces... particularly Kiba's. She smiled on the inside. '_I'll have to give him my special attention_.'

Shino replied first. "That, we _cannot_ do. Regardless of your, and Gaara's change of heart, that _is_ an S-ranked secret.

Tenten added, after seeing Temari's glance at Kiba. "And don't try to seduce it out of dog-boy here." She produced a kunai out of nowhere and twirled it while glancing at Kiba, and Temari. "I'd hate to see our new friendship sour so quickly."

Temari muttered, "It's not like I would have enjoyed it."

"Hey!" Kiba flinched and looked at Shino. "A little support here bro."

Shino shrugged and turned towards Temari. "You're free to attempt getting the information from me."

Temari made a face at Shino. "Not for all the water in Suna."

Akamaru made a wheezing noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter... which added to Kiba's chuckle. Tenten shook her head, grabbed a chair and sat down. "Okay, let's get down to business. While we can't tell you what happened, we can tell you what's happened since then... and let you draw your own conclusions."

Shino added, "In return, of course, for some choice news concerning Suna, and anything that Suna has learned recently."

Temari smiled agreeably. "Easily done."

===11:25 PM, O'Donnell Lodge, continued===

"Tell me somethin' Naruto... Those Chuunin Exams I've heard mentioned... how'd ya do?" Jeri asked.

"I kicked butt." Naruto replied, pausing briefly when he almost said ass, not sure they'd like that. Adults were... funny about that stuff... and he didn't wanna get in trouble. "I would of won too, but..." He added, and drifted off with a frown.

"What happened?" Ric asked, as curious as Jeri was about the matches... well, almost.

"Our village was invaded by 2 lesser villages." Hinata answered after seeing the change on Naruto's face.

"Hold on a second..." Jeri leaned forward. "This exam was an open event, right?"

Hinata puzzled over Jeri's terminology. "If you mean open invitation, then yes."

Ric leaned back in his chair. "I see... so your opponents chose to attack a neutral venue, doubtlessly crowded with VIPs and civilians." Both Naruto and Hinata nodded in agreement.

Jeri whistled. "Damn, that must have been a world-class mess... and you still beat back their attack?" He saw Naruto's frown deepen as he nodded in reply. "Well then, that says a lot about the strength of your folks. Not many come out on top after getting hit with a sneak attack of that sort."

Jack, noting the expression on Naruto's face, spoke up. "There's a full write-up in their bios file." Both Jeri and Ric picked up on Jack's tone, and the look in his eyes.

Hinata, with boldness slightly fueled by Jeri's shine, reached over and squeezed Naruto's hand. Her softly worded comment added to the gesture. "It's okay Naruto... please don't be sad."

Hinata's attempt to comfort Naruto partially worked. He tossed back the remainder of his small glass of shine, and the tension left his face. However, he suddenly stood up and looked about the dining room.

Ric, divining his intent, and need, pointed over his shoulder. "There's a door in the kitchen that'll take you outside. You'll see the patio deck plain enough from there."

Naruto nodded his thanks and left the room without comment. Silence filled the room until they all heard a door open, and shut... gently.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Nicely played, sir." She raised her half-full glass towards Jack and took a sip.

Jeri turned to Hinata. "So, how bad were the losses from the attack?"

Hinata fought the urge to run after Naruto; she had learned awhile back that this was one memory that was still far too raw for him to discuss casually. She took a small sip from her glass before answering. "In actual numbers, not that bad. But Naruto lost a precious person because of it... the Sandaime Hokage." The SG1 regulars had heard this story before, and said nothing; Ric and Jeri took their cue from them and waited for Hinata to speak further.

Hinata sighed. "Naruto and he were very close... the Sandaime was one of the few people in Konoha that openly treated Naruto with kindness, and helped him after he had left the orphanage. He also sponsored Naruto's entry into the Academy, and forgave him when he was deceived by Mizuki into stealing one of Konoha's most important treasures."

Hinata paused long enough to push her glass aside. "For as little as Naruto ever had, being noticed, and acknowledged by the Sandaime, was worth more than anything Konoha could ever give him." Hinata slowly stood up. "Konoha's darkest hour, for us, was by the hand of Orochimaru, a wicked and foul traitor... and one of the Sandaime's greatest students. I've never learned the full story, but I know he hurt Naruto, corrupted one of Naruto's few friends... which led to his desertion of Konoha, and caused the Sandaime to sacrifice his life to save Konoha from destruction. Naruto has lost much by that man's hand."

Jeri growled out, "Now that sounds like somebody that _needs_ kill'n, and I don't say that lightly." Everyone there nodded in agreement.

Hinata frowned. "I won't disagree, but keep in mind that Orochimaru is _very_ powerful, and careful enough to _never_ show himself until he's ready to strike his target down." Hinata glanced at the doorway to the kitchen. "Kurenai-sensei told me to retreat, quickly, if I _ever_ encountered him. She once said that only someone who's prepared to die could ever have a chance of defeating him."

Jack sighed and stared in his glass. "And Naruto doesn't strike me as somebody who'll run away... from him."

Ric gave Jeri a meaningful look; he emptied his glass and nodded. "Yes sir, I'll modify the lesson plans accordingly."

After seeing Hinata glance towards the kitchen for the third time, Sam spoke up. "Go to him, but let him work it out at his own pace."

Jack glanced at his watch and added, "Just don't let him brood all night over it. It still gets cold at night at this time of the year." Hinata stood still just long enough to bow to Ric, her host, and disappeared into the kitchen... a few seconds after everyone heard the door shut a second time, Jack shook his head and sighed. "I know how he feels. Hell, anybody who's lost somebody important does, but he has to get past it." Jack finished off his glass of shine and added silently, '_Lord knows, I was in the same boat, once upon a time_.'

x

As told to Naruto earlier, the path was easy to make out; Hinata stepped from one paving stone to the next as she closed on him. To her relief, he just seemed to be standing in the middle of a slightly elevated wood-planked deck, staring up at the sky. When she got within a dozen feet of him, she saw Naruto sniff the night air, then turned to face her. The faint moonlight lit him enough for her to see a faint smile on his face. In a soft voice she asked, "Naruto, is everything alright?"

Naruto briefly looked up before replying. "Yeah." Naruto's face turned pensive as he turned away from her. She froze as her default shyness mode kicked in and her previous boldness faded. After a few moments he spoke again, "I'm sorry."

His seemingly odd apology spurred her forward and she joined him on the deck; she stood alongside him and asked, "What about?"

He looked up at the starry sky. "I spoiled the party, didn't I?"

She edged closer to him. "No, not at all. They're just... concerned for you Naruto." Hinata glanced about and moved closer still. "They care for you... and me."

Naruto nodded and smiled. "I know." A brief frown crossed his face. "I guess I'm not used to it."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Used to what?"

Naruto chuckled. ""This is going to sound stupid, but they accept me. They don't look at me with hate, or fear in their eyes, ever. No one's mean to me, or curses me... they don't even get mad at me when I do stupid or silly things like I did in Konoha." Naruto audibly sighed. "That's what I meant when I said I'm not used to it." Naruto turned to face Hinata. "Part of me doesn't believe that it's really happening... that these people could treat me the way they do."

Hinata snorted and lightly poked Naruto's chest. "Of course they do, this isn't Konoha, and they don't think, or know anything about you, or me, other than what they see... and what you show them. They see you, Naruto, just like I see you..." Her mind flashed through the memories she had of his life, having witnessed a portion of it from afar. She pushed aside the sadness that came with those memories and fell silent.

Naruto realized just how close Hinata was standing next him stepped back a pace. He ignored his inner voice, and didn't act on male impulse... Naruto turned towards Ric's... no, his family's house and said, "We should be getting back."

Hinata sighed as her courage to kiss him faded... her boldness only went so far, at least for the moment. She replied, "Hai, we should." She settled for bumping into him as she walked past, briefly pressing herself against him. Cursing her shyness, she smoothed her face and smiled at Naruto. She added, "Race you back." Hinata giggled softly and immediately broke into a run.

At that point, the silly Naruto resurfaced. "Hey! No fair!" He yelled, and ran after her waving his arms.

===Meanwhile, in Naruto's Mindscape===

"**GAAAAAAH! Kiss her, you baka!**" Kyuubi yelled in frustration, throwing her arms up as her hanyou tail waved in irritation. The other woman present, giggled and smiled.

===11:45 PM===

Everyone focused on the kitchen when they heard the back door open... a few moments later Naruto and Hinata walked in. Jeri spoke up first, "You okay Naruto?"

Naruto replied, "Yeah, I'm fine Jeri-san. Sorry if I ruined the evening. If it's okay, Hinata and I are gonna go to bed..."

"EEP!" Hinata squeaked and blushed brightly.

Naruto's eyes popped open a moment later when he saw Hinata's red face. Knowing what that turn of phrase meant now, he realizing how it came across. "I mean in our own rooms, really!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his arms and praying he wasn't about to get a beating for being a pervert.

"It's okay Naruto, we understand... go on and hit the hay." Jack replied and watched Naruto practically run from the room. And, the moment after Jack heard Naruto's door shut, he... and everyone but Hinata, broke out in fits of laughter.

Meanwhile, in her head, the 'cheerleader Hinata' shouted, '_He shoots... He scores!_' from the sidelines of a basketball court where a tall, muscular Naruto just 'swished' a half court shot. However, the real world Hinata gave them a small bow and walked out... rather quickly.

===Saturday, April 12, 7:35 AM===

Sam stepped out the back door by the kitchen and made her way to the back deck as she took a drink of her coffee. with a surprisingly minor hangover, given the amount of shine she had consumed, and smiled as she saw Hinata sitting on the deck in the seiza position, wearing her new shorts and a black tee shirt, peeking out from the open collar of her trademark beige coat. She quietly joined Hinata and sat in a close-by folding camp chair.

Hinata spoke without opening her eyes or otherwise reacting, "I missed being outside."

Sam replied with a smile, "SGC isn't exactly a field of flowers is it."

Hinata flashed a subtle smile. "It's comfortable, but even the softest bed is no substitute for flowers and grass." Hinata remarked back, then opened her eyes. "What time is it?"

Sam replied, "A quarter to 7... is Naruto up too?"

Hinata giggled and pointed to her right. "He's in a clearing over that hill, about 320 yards in that direction. He's been there since sunrise, training."

Sam smiled deviously. "Have you been watching him?"

"Uh... maybe a little." Hinata replied meekly as she blushed.

Sam playfully asked, "A little?"

Hinata swallowed nervously. "Just for an hour... until he took his shirt off." Hinata replied softly then covered her face with her hands as she blushed brighter still.

"It's okay Hinata, it's natural to look... just don't peep." Sam remarked and softly touched Hinata's temple.

Hinata raised her head. "I'd never do that to Naruto-kun... '_No matter how much I want to_.' "...that would be cheating... and I... um..." She begin to explain, then succumbed to her persistent shyness.

Sam replied with a warm, sisterly tone, "You want the first time you see each other to be special, don't you?"

Hinata responded with a slight nod, lightly blushing.

===7:45 AM, The road to the O'Donnell Lodge===

The gravel road crunched beneath his feet as he ambled back towards the former Ranger Station. Daniel took a deep breath and marveled at how he felt this morning. By no means a regular imbiber of hard liquor, he was still surprised that he hadn't woken up with a blazing hangover. As he came within eyeshot of the lodge, he heard someone running up the road, and turned to see who it was. Only half surprised, he saw Jeri jogging up the road, dressed in gray running shorts, a black T-shirt and combat boots. As they made eye contact, Daniel and Jeri exchanged smiles, and greetings. "Good morning Sergeant Hayes."

Jeri grinned and replied, "Good morning, Professor." And added after slowing to a walk, "I didn't figure you for an early riser."

Daniel chuckled at Jeri's friendly jab. "Once upon a time, I wasn't... unless I had a hard dead-line for my research. All that changed after I met Jack, he had a habit of dragging me out of bed at unexpected hours. After a while, I finally got used to it."

Jeri further slowed his pace as he came alongside Daniel, his breathing normal and was barely sweating. He gave Daniel a twisted grin. "That's what happens when you hang out with us military types."

Daniel smiled back and shook his head. "True enough. By the way, you didn't see Naruto about, did you?"

Jeri thought about it for a moment and replied, "Nope, can't say that I did. I 'spect he's out doing something... ninja-ish, I guess." After several moments of mutual silence, Jeri's face turned serious. "Can I ask you a question, Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow, "You can call me Daniel you know, but yes, please do."

Jeri nodded. "Okay... Daniel, tell me about the kids when you first met them."

Daniel's pace slowed as he considered Jeri's request, then stuck his hands in his pockets and he came to a halt. "Hmm... if you mean first impressions, then I'd say..." Daniel's face turned thoughtful as he recalled Naruto and Hinata's first days at SGC. After a minute or so of mulling it over, Daniel sighed. "I guess you could say they're a couple of decent but very atypical teenagers... and ninjas, I guess." Daniel looked at Jeri and noted his face was neutral, but his eyes were cold and serious. He resisted the urge to take a step back and asked, "What's on your mind? Is there something wrong?"

Jeri began slowly walking towards the lodge, with Daniel in tow. He glanced at Daniel. "Hell yes there's somethin' wrong. It's not every day you meet practiced child soldiers that you don't have ta' always keep one eye on, nor constantly have a weapon within touching distance."

There was an edge to Jeri's voice that Daniel had rarely heard before, even from Jack. Daniel came to a halt with obvious confusion on his face. "But you like Naruto and Hinata... don't you?"

Jeri came to a immediate halt and looked at Daniel, he'd picked up on the tone of Daniel's question and raised a bushy copper eyebrow. "Of course I like' em. Hinata's a fine young lady that I'd have no problem bring'en to my Mama's house, nor Naruto. And Naruto's cuter than a mess o' beagle puppies chase'n a ball... and smart too." Jeri's face and eyes softened. "I 'spect you wouldn't understand, but the Major and me have been to some very _bad_ places. Places were kids like them are used as cannon fodder..." Daniel watched Jeri's eyes grow cold again. "Kids that were little better than... animals with AKs, and the light of the Lord gone from their eyes." Jeri shook his head slowly. "Think 'bout the kinda world that spits out Naruto, and Hinata... cheery, normal-look'n children, with bloody hands."

Daniel had thought about it, but had kept those musings to himself... and he suspected his teammates had done likewise. He ventured a follow-up question. "So what does Ric think about them, and their world?" Then Daniel started. "And what did you mean by, "bloody hands?"

Jeri snorted and gave Daniel an odd look. "As to the last item, both those kids have killed... probably more than once."

Daniel, having read both their bios, had seen that fact hinted at but had not stated it explicitly. "You don't know that for certain." Daniel shot back, though in his heart, he had a feeling that Hayes was right.

Jeri's scowl merged his eyebrows; he locked eyes with Daniel. "I do." After a moment of silence Jeri added, "And, as to y'or first question... the Major t'ain't the best one to be the judge of that."

Daniel gave Jeri a puzzled look. "Why not?"

Jeri resumed walking. "Well, he feels the same way I do 'bout the kids; he thinks the world of Hinata, and he likes Naruto, a bunch. But, the Major's got a whole different way of doing, and think'n 'bout things. Not to mention the way he solves... problems."

Daniel mulled over all the oblique comments Jack had made. "I see."

Jeri chuckled darkly. "Maybe, maybe not." At that, he resumed jogging towards the lodge.

Daniel remained in place, watching Jeri jog off. '_I think it's time to have a talk with Jack_.'

===7:38 AM, The Clearing===

The newest group of 5 powered-up Shadow Clones appeared and moved to the nearby trees, just as the previous batches had done all morning. Each of the clones sought out their own tree and placed their right hands on them.

"1... 2... 3!" Naruto called out forcefully, and pushed an enormous amount of chakra out of his palm, just as the powered-up copies did... and just like all the earlier tests, they all dispelled and he was pushed back in the grooves his feet had been digging.

He groaned and shook out his arm. "Damn... I hope 20 times with 5 dispelling each time is enough, but this is definitely my limit for now." Naruto said and gave his head a little shake to help clear it. '_There's still our trip to the mall... I can't spend all day training like I did back in Konoha._'

He heard Kyuubi say. "**Look down, Naruto.**"

When he did, he smiled. "I only went halfway this time... a few more days and I'll have this ready to use during my real training." Naruto thought about it for a moment and asked, "Hey Kyuubi, any ideas on how I can practice this without losing my shadow clones? It'd really speed this up if I could train like I want to."

Kyuubi knew Naruto was right, normal training took a lot of time to master a new jutsu or technique, but his shadow clones gave him an edge over everyone because of the massive chakra reserves he shared with her. His novel technique of making groups of clones, having them train a while, then dispelling them to gain their knowledge, then repeating the process, was working out quite well.

In her hanyou form, Kyuubi tapped her pursed lips with her right index finger as she analyzed what Naruto had done so far, then smiled and snapped her fingers. "**Approach it like you did with the Rasengan. You learned that jutsu in 3 steps, and since you want to use this new style as a base for other jutsus, do it the same way.**" She explained.

Naruto nodded, he sort of understood what she was saying. "So... I'm getting ahead of myself, right?"

"**Exactly. You don't have time to do it now, but when you come back tomorrow morning, make 50 shadow clones and have them practice doing it in the open, not on a tree. And, project just a small amount of chakra, instead of the big blast like you have been doing. Most jutsu only have a single step to learn them; the Rasengan has 3. That's why the Sharingan can't copy it, they only see the final step, not the entire process to create it.**" Kyuubi explained then waited for Naruto to absorb her explanation.

Naruto thought about that, his mind still in 'battle mode' as it always was when he was training, then his eyes snapped open as it became clear. "OF COURSE, THAT'S IT!" Naruto yelled excitedly and punched the air. "If I..."

Kyuubi smiled happily as she listened to Naruto start running off his training plan. She had to admit he sounded like some of the Jonin she had noted through Naruto's memories. In the right situation, when Naruto's mind got going... he was unstoppable. There was no jutsu he couldn't defeat, no defense he couldn't penetrate... in time. Getting him into this particular mindset was the hard part. When he wanted to learn, Naruto soaked up information like a sponge. Kyuubi sighed. "**Naruto stop... check the time.**"

Naruto looked at his watch. "Crap, I better get back before they come looking for me." He grabbed his shirt and quickly pulled it on, noting that his jumpsuit sleeves were still tied around his waist. That done, he made straight for the lodge, making sure he didn't drop anything along the way.

Kyuubi decided to take a step forward with him. She addressed him in her sincerest tone of voice, "**Naruto... I want to help you. Let me take our ideas, and by tomorrow morning I'll come up with something for this jutsu that will help your chakra control, and with other jutsu... please, I need to do this for you... and myself.**"

Naruto sighed, she was honestly asking to help him... and he had given her prior chances. "Okay. Besides... you don't have anything else to do." Naruto replied, smiled because teasing her was like calling Tsunade, Baa-chan, or Jiraiya, Pervy Sage. He could get use to this.

In her cage, Kyuubi stuck out her tongue at him, then giggled. Now she knew how Tsunade felt. She sort of enjoyed being teased like this... like a friend, and it beat being called 'monster' or 'furball' by a mile.

===7:45 AM, The O'Donnell Lodge, Kitchen===

Ric took a sip of the coffee that Jeri had brewed up earlier. He smiled as Sam and Hinata came in the back door. "Morning ladies." He hoisted his mug. "Now this is the real deal. No offense Sam... but that stuff they serve at SGC is only coffee by military standards."

Sam swallowed the last bit in her mug and sighed softly. "I hate to admit it... but you're right. This is pretty good."

"Ric 3, Sam 0." Jack announced with a grin as he walked in, having heard them from the hallway.

Sam glared at Jack a moment, then stuck her tongue out at him.

Hinata giggled at Sam's display of displeasure then bowed to Ric, "Good Morning, Ric-san."

Ric smiled over his mug and replied, "Ohayou, kame-chan." Hinata giggled again.

Sam poured herself a another cup of coffee. She had heard Ric use that nickname for Hinata on several occasions. "Okay, what does that mean?"

Hinata detected the tone in Sam's question and replied with a smile, "It means little turtle." She closed her jacket with her hands and ducked her head into the collar so that only her eyes were visible on her face. From inside the jacket she continued, "Ric-san meant no disrespect to me." Everyone chuckled at Hinata's demonstration. At that, Hinata let her jacket fall open again and added, "Hakumei-neesan used to call me that." Her face turned wistful.

Sam looked openly curious at Hinata's mood swing. Ric noted it and explained, "Neesan can mean elder sister, but it can also be applied to an older female, not related by blood, as a term of affection or respect." Ric glanced at Hinata and asked with a slight smile, "I noticed that you didn't use the honorific, obasan."

Hinata shook her head no, vigorously. "Hakumei-neesan gets a _really_ scary face if you call her that."

Ric grinned at Hinata's reply. "I'll remember that tidbit." He saw the confusion on Sam's face and explained further, "Obasan can be a tricky honorific, it means, aunt, or auntie... but it can imply that the woman in question, if she's old enough, is a spinster-woman, unless the woman is already married."

Ric looked back at Hinata. "I take it she's unmarried, right?" Hinata nodded in reply. Ric put on teasing smile and looked at Sam. "Used a certain way, obasan can be a reproach, _or_ a dire taunt."

Jack chuckled as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Well then, since Hinata hasn't called you Sam-obasan, I guess you're safe from spinsterhood."

Sam drew herself up, gave Jack an annoyed look and growled out, "I'm married to my career, thank you very much."

Ric saw the uncomfortable look on Hinata's face and interjected, "Hinata-dono's speech is a little too polite to freely use the other honorific, aneki. That's a title sometimes given to an older girl-gang member." Hinata's face relaxed and nodded in agreement.

Sam rounded on Hinata and smiled, "You can be in _my_ gang anytime, Hinata."

Hinata gave Sam a faintly mischievous smile in reply. "Hai." Then Hinata turned about as she heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen door. "Naruto is back from training."

"About time." Jack replied. As Naruto crossed the threshold, Jack pointed with his right arm to the other doorway. "Hit the showers Naruto."

Naruto nodded, smiled at Hinata then slipped past them, and headed for his room.

"I should go too, I was training earlier as well. When Sam found me I was on the deck finishing my meditation. Please excuse me." Hinata said, then gave a small bow and left.

Ric turned to Sam who was refilling her cup. "So what did you girls talk about?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Sam replied, then smiled and headed for the living room.

Ric grinned, turning to Jack. "I think she's loosening up... this could be my best assignment ever."

Jack simply nodded in response; he agreed with Ric's observation. It might be Hinata's influence, but Sam was loosening up... not enough to flash them some skin last night, unfortunately... he had 'subtly tried though. They had developed strong feelings for each other over several years; and, although those feelings had cooled a bit, by mutual consent, she was still hot as far as Jack was concerned.

As Jack, and the other 3 members of SG1 knew from several past missions, and to Sam's annoyance, she'd been forced to wear some very revealing outfits, most of them being little better than a bikini. The first time was about a month after she first joined SG1, that mission sent to a world with a Mongolian-style culture where women had no rights. The fiancée of their new friend... Abu as he recalled, had been taken by another tribe to marry their chief. After 2 attempts by Abu to save her, including an attempt to sell Sam to the rival chief... the girl was going to be stoned to death for trying to escape.

Jack's first choice was to do it his way... sneak in and get her back, but an aspect of their tribal law had worked out even better. Being their version of a chief, Sam insisted that she challenge the other chief to single combat to spare the girl from stoning. It had started as a knife fight, but as good as the rival chief was, he was no match for Sam, and her advanced combat training. In the end, Sam beat him without killing him, to the rival chief's total humiliation.

The girl was saved and returned to Abu, and Jack was willing to swear that she enjoyed the fight far more than she let on. For Jack, the best part of that mission was seeing Sam in a blue and pink harem-style outfit... damn that was hot. He was dying to tell Ric, but they had all promised not to talk about that part of the mission, and it wasn't even in the official report.

As Jack fondly recalled the mission, he noted Ric sitting quietly in his chair, studying Jack closely. Jack shifted to his best innocent face. "What are you looking at?"

Without comment, Ric stood up and rinsed his mug out in the sink. After that, he walked past Jack and declared quietly, "Don't worry, your secret crush on Sam will stay safe with me."

By the time Jack unfroze, and spun about to reply... Ric was gone without a sound.

Jack muttered to himself, "I hate it when he does that."

===April 10, 7:55 AM, Konoha Business District===

In ultra-serious mode, Ino, dressed in a perfectly unfashionable kunoichi outfit, composed of different shades of gray and brown... which she had purchased at Hotaru-aneki's fortuitous urging, had been following Sakura discreetly since she left her house almost an hour ago. While the exercise seemed easy enough, Sakura was obviously happy about something, and half-reading a small notebook as she was walking. Even with that on her side, Ino had to be mindful of the ANBU patrols while shadowing her best friend. Being noticed by them would definitely bring her father into the mix... and _that_, would spell nothing but trouble.

During the time Ino followed her, Sakura had made a few quick stops at some civilian shops, then entered the Hokage complex... thus far, nothing extraordinary had occurred. After leaving the complex, Sakura indirectly made her way to an alley that she, and the other Genin had often used as a shortcut.

From her rooftop perch she watched Sakura suddenly stop in a short section that ran through the block, that was hidden from direct view of the street. _'What's she doing?_' Ino wondered, then noted Sakura's right hand make a sign... and vanish in a swirl of leaves.

Ino's eyes got big as saucers and her jaw dropped. '_WHAT THE FUCK? When did she learn the Shunshin... Was she promoted to Chuunin and can't tell anyone?_' Ino thought, now even more confused, and curious than before.

Ino edged backwards and sat down, safely out of sight from anyone below, or at roof-level. Ino put her head in her hands and muttered aloud, "What's going on here? Think... I can figure this out... yes, that's it! This wouldn't work on anyone... except Sakura." She sat upright and crossed her legs, put her hands in her lap and shut her eyes.

A deep cleansing breath later, Ino was in a trance. She focused her mind on Sakura and mentally reached out to her, using a new telepathy jutsu from the clan scroll her father had recently given her. Previously, she'd been practicing this new skill at home to sense her parents location, but this would be the acid test of the jutsu's true power.

For months after it had happened, Ino had dwelled on the failure of her clan's signature Mind Transfer jutsu. She had tried it on Sakura during the Chuunin Exam battle, without success. By everything she knew, Sakura's rejection of the jutsu was impossible. However, after studying her newest clan scroll, Ino discovered that there were additional factors that could alter the effectiveness of her clan's jutsus.

To say that Ino was surprised would have been an understatement... she found the key reason why her attack with the jutsu failed... she had created, by pure accident, a special bond with Sakura that went beyond normal friendship.

During their interaction in Sakura's mind, their souls had somehow touched... and that link had gotten even stronger since Sakura's mood swing to her current mental state, happiness, and (Ino's guess) the resolution of her feelings towards Naruto. For reasons she had yet to understand, without going to her father for insight... the more positive, and focused Sakura became, the stronger her link to Sakura grew.

In a fashion similar to her other Mind Jutsus, Ino found herself rising into the air above her body. She did a slow turn and saw the pale red aura that she instantly knew was Sakura's. Ino started, her eyes snapping open... breaking the jutsu. "How the fuck did she get inside the Hokage Monument... the shelters don't go that deep... it's just solid rock in that area." Ino said to herself, more confused than ever. Her test of the jutsu had worked, but it brought up more questions instead of answering them. Ino stood, leapt down to the alley and started a slow walk home.

===A few moments earlier, KSC===

Sakura suddenly stiffened as an odd feeling ran through her body... and it felt somehow familiar.

"Something wrong Sakura?" Shiho asked.

"No... I'm fine." Sakura replied, wondering why, for an instant, she felt like she was outside the complex. What ever it was, the sensation had passed, but she made a mental note to talk to Tsunade about it later.

===Saturday, April 12, 4:45 AM, Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow===

The shining black Global Express taxied to a stop inside a partially-lit, large private hanger and begin shutting down it's Rolls-Royce turbofans. Moments after that, the hanger's main doors rolled shut. Neatly lined up within the hanger were 3 dark-gray G280 CDI Benz's and a white and blue mini-bus. Well before the whine of the turbofans had diminished to a safe level without hearing protection, all the passengers of the 4 vehicles had disembarked. From the mini-bus, a dozen men in dark red in coveralls took up stations around the jet; and, from the 3 G-Wagens a total of 12 men and women in dark suits formed up 2 equal lines before the Bombardier's main entry door.

Just before the entry door was undogged, all the jet's interior lights went out. A moment after that, the door swung downward, deploying the handrails built into the door, and exposing the built-in steps. Out of the darkened interior stepped a tall, reddish-haired, young Asian woman, wearing a closed, full-length black sable coat and high dark-gray, flat heeded boots. The moment her left foot touched the painted concrete floor, the 12 MIBs (and WIBs) bowed in unison. After that greeting, and with military precision, her escorts went to their various spots as she walked towards the lead Benz SUV. Eriko Shimazu halted an arms-length from SUV and turned to face the pair that had fallen in behind her. She looked at the WIB, "Report."

The slender young woman with pale red hair and dark green eyes, replied, "The falcon has returned its cote, but there might be... complications."

Eriko's smoky eyes narrowed. "Beyond the incident report I got while coming here? Explain please."

With an even face, Eilís Ryan replied, "We finally confirmed the identity of the dog that attacked the falcon." She motioned to the SUV. "It would be better if I briefed you en route."

Eriko frowned, she took that as a sign that the report of a simple brawl she gotten earlier had turned serious. While the hanger she was in was swept and clean, if the commander of the Moscow Cell wanted the extra layer of a shielded (and armored) vehicle, and wanted to go mobile... that didn't bode well. "Very well." Eriko climbed into the Benz and motioned to Ryan. "Sit beside me and bring me up to speed." She looked at man standing beside Ryan. "Grigory, alert the reserve flight crew, accelerate the prep of my jet, and file for an open departure time."

Ryan's chief Russian operative, and her second-in-command, Grigory Novikov, nodded curtly and declared, "It shall be done, Printsessa."

Eriko kept a straight face at Grigory's favorite honorific for her and motioned to Ryan, "Get in and give me the bad news."

===Saturday, April 12, 7:20 AM, The Federov Estate, 25 km NE of Moscow===

"WHAT DO MEAN I CAN'T!" Roared the man behind a large, gilt baroque desk.

The short, thin, and sweating man in a tailored blue suit replied, "I did not say that, Gospodin Federov. I said you should _not_ do it."

Maxim Ilyich Federov drew himself up to his not so imposing height of 5' 2"; however, the two 6' plus bodyguards flanking him made up for that deficiency. "I do not pay you to say _no_ to me, Herr Fink... I pay you to get things _done_ for me." Federov's already ruddy face was getting redder by the second.

"And I have, without fail, in the past." Johann Fink, formerly of the GDR Stasi, set his narrow shoulders and added, "This is different, _much_ different than past... issues. What you are asking for is setting you directly against a Division Head of the FSB, which is what will happen if..."

"_Mne nasrát__!_ I want that _súka_ brought to me, alive and breathing, so that I break her and make her crawl on her belly to my poor son. He is lying in a bed..." Federov pointed in the direction of the small personal clinic built on the estate grounds. "..._crippled_ by that worthless pizda!" Federov paused for breath, his face crimson with anger.

"I fully understand sir." Fink silently sighed. He checked his notebook again, using the temporary silence to gather his wits... when his boss was in a rage like this, getting in his way was not good. Looking over his hasty research on Irina Lebed, he saw a name that rang a bell. A thin, twisted smirk appeared, "I may have a solution for you, Gospodin Federov."

Federov knew that smile, and it usually boded ill for somebody. As much as he abused the scrawny ex-Stasi Colonel, he was very creative when it came to dealing with trouble. He sat back down and waved his hand. "Speak. Tell me some good news for a change."

Fink's new smile made Federov shiver. "This woman has... had an American Army officer, stationed at the Moscow Embassy, as a lover." Fink paused to recheck his notes. "His name is Richard Von Kreiger."

Federov snorted dismissively. "So what. He is no longer here, da?" He saw the bodyguard on his left stir and turned to him. "What is it Misha. Do you know of him?"

The ex-Spetsnaz Sergeant nodded. He replied in a low voice, "I have heard of this man." He looked at Fink and pointed at his notebook. "He has hair like silver, da?" Fink nodded in reply. The tall, scarred bodyguard looked at his master. "This... very bad... he Prizrak."

Federov saw the rare look of worry in Misha's eyes, and took it as warning. He turned back to Fink and decided some measure of caution was in order, "Why does this man matter to me?"

Fink gave Federov a reassuring smile. "This man, nothing. He is a senior officer in the American military and cannot move at his own desire. By the time he learns of what has happened, it will be all over. But, there are people who will eagerly, and willingly, grab _his_ woman, and do all your work for you... and _nothing_ will be directly linked to you."

Federov briefly considered Fink's plan and noted the obvious problem. "Then how do I get my hands on her?" Federov put his fists on his desk and stood up. "I want her for my Piotr... then I give her to my dogs for their amusement."

"And so you shall, Gospodin Federov. The Chechens, the ones doing this deed, will, for the right amount of money, sell anything to anyone." Fink replied.

Federov smiled to himself. Fink was right, he had used the Chechens before. They were ruthless, effective, and worked cheaper than the Bratva. "Khorosho." Federov sat back down. "See to it. Cost is _not_ an issue as far as buying her, _alive_, from them." After a moment of further calculation, he added. "Move quickly. If this Amerikanskii _is_ truly tied to her, someone may decide to have her leave Mother Russia... and _that_ would be a problem, for you." He gave Fink a meaningful look.

Fink gulped and nodded. "I will see to the matter at once. I know just the right man to approach for this task." He bowed and left the room, quickly.

No longer the focus of attention, Mikhail Kuznetsov wondered if his comfortable, and well paid position was worth the potential cost, and not for the first time. He knew that Federov was arrogant, fickle, and vicious man... but this affair was heading into dangerous territory.

And the newest tidings, for him... that Printsessa Smerti and Prizrak had become lovers... he didn't know whether to laugh like a drunken fool... or flee to the remotest district of Yakutia, and hide. Kuznetsov considered all that might come to pass because of Federov's rage, and decided then and there, that a new employer might in order. And the sooner, the better.

===Saturday, April 12, 10:25 AM, Chapel Hill Mall===

After everything had been put in order at the lodge, and everyone had gotten dressed and ready, they set out in Ric's Expedition and Jeri's government-issued Suburban. Sam, Naruto and Hinata rode with Ric, and Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel had gone with Jeri. At Naruto's incessant pleading, they ate again at a Waffle House. Jack noted the odd smile on Naruto's face as they ate breakfast, and got an equally odd answer when he asked about it... "We like waffles." ...was Naruto's reply.

With breakfast out of the way, and a minor amount of discussion, Jeri and his companions headed off for 'other business' as Jack had explained it, except for Daniel who joined Ric and his passengers. But, everyone agreed to meet up at the mall later on, and to stay in touch via cell phone if necessary.

Once inside the mall, Naruto headed straight to Annie's and purchased a tray of garlic & parmesan-covered pretzels, with lots of cheese sauce. He ate most of them, except for the two snapped up by Hinata, in record time. With that bit business done, they started their second foray into the shopping mall.

Given that it was a late morning on Saturday, the crowd of shoppers was slightly more than yesterday's visit. Hinata brought up the most immediate reason for coming back. "We need some... ah, art supplies that you don't have."

Naruto nodded, glad that he'd remembered to talk to Hinata about the writing lessons. As they started walking again, he checked out the various shops for anything that looked interesting enough to check out later, then the art comment triggered a memory.

Following his instinct, Naruto decided to trust his friends with knowing more about the artifact. "Daniel, you know about that art stuff. Well... I got this bowl thing, and a brush from... that other place, but don't know what it is, or what it does."

Ric spoke up, "What's its shape and size?" Naruto responded by making two L's with his thumb and fingers to indicate the size of the stone tray he'd unsealed from the Fuinjutsu scroll.

Daniel, still walking, thought a moment and asked, "Is it deeper at one end?"

"Yeah, it's made of stone and hollowed-out, and on one end it kinda gets shallow." Naruto made a movement with a finger to describe its interior shape.

Daniel thought about Naruto's description and declared, "It must be an ink stone... did the scroll say anything about it?" Naruto shook his head. "Did it look special in any way?"

Naruto shrugged and replied, "It's made out of black stone and has lots of weird-looking animals carved all over it."

At that point, Ric turned his attention the various people in the mall and to his satisfaction, no one seemed to be paying close attention to Daniel and Naruto's conversation. He glanced at Sam who immediately picked up on the watchful look in Ric's eyes. He quietly said, "You watch the far side, I'll watch the immediate area." Sam nodded and turned to face the other side of the mall's interior.

Daniel rubbed his chin in thought. "It definitely sounds like it's an ink stone. May I look at it when we get back?" After a moment of thought, Naruto nodded. "Good, I'll be able to tell you more after I examine it." After a short pause he asked, "Was there anything in the scroll on how to use it? We've found things like that before and they always have instructions written somewhere."

"It didn't say anything." Naruto said, getting slightly depressed.

Daniel asked, "Was there anything written on the bottom of the inkstone?"

Naruto's face froze, then morphed into a 'am I that stupid?' look on his face.

Ric stopped scanning the crowd and looked at Naruto. "You didn't turn it over did you?" Naruto just sighed in response. Ric smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Just take it as a lesson and don't beat yourself up over it." He switched his gaze to Hinata. "I checked the mall map, what you need is hopefully in a shop on the second level." He handed the mall brochure to her. "It's called the Oriental House." Ric made a mental note to visit the shop as well.

Jack leaned over and looked at the map Hinata was holding. "So, where to first?"

===1:10 PM, Cafe Court, near the Subway===

Naruto crumpled the wrapper from his second foot long, a double turkey, bacon, pickles, America cheese and mustard. "That was great, now I'm ready for more shopping... oh, can we pick up a couple of these... subs, before we leave?"

"Maybe, I believe our host has something special planned for tonight... what do you say Ric, can Naruto take a couple back... it's not like they'll spoil his appetite." Jack replied, facing the next table where Ric, Daniel and Teal'c were sitting.

Ric sat up straight and put on a bland face. "Indeed." Daniel snorted into his straw, causing his chocolate milkshake to bubble up. Teal'c simply nodded in agreement. He and Jack had been in on Jeri's covert mission to obtain the ingredients for tonight's dinner.

Naruto's reaction wasn't as subtle... as noted by everyone turning to look at them when he fell out of his chair laughing his head off at Ric's surprisingly good mimicking of Teal'c's tone of voice.

Hinata just smiled as she shook her head slowly in amusement.

Jack got up and put Naruto back in his chair. He turned to the other mall-goers sitting nearby, that were now curious, and amused onlookers. "Sorry folks."

"I think we need to get moving." Sam suggested firmly.

Teal'c noted the growing number of glances they were receiving. "I agree, we seem to be attracting a great deal of attention."

Jack announced, "Time to go, lunch is over."

"Does this mean that me and Hinata can go look around?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Please... I'll make sure Naruto behaves." Hinata added.

"Hmm, we did say you could if you were good, and you have been." Jack replied, then looked at Naruto. "Mostly."

Naruto pouted for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "The rest of the day, just me and Hinata, no... escorts, no one watching us... you promised."

Jack knew a promise was everything to Naruto. "If you promise you'll behave, you and Hinata can spend the rest of the day by yourselves... no escorts, but we'll be nearby if needed, deal?"

"Deal." Naruto said with a big smile. "I can be as good as anyone."

Everyone but Ric gave Naruto the 'oh really' stare.

Naruto looked at them, a little shock on his face, then turned to Hinata and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I can." Naruto grumbled.

"Sorry Naruto-kun." Hinata said gently as she leaned in and hugged him briefly. That made him smile.

===2:50 PM, Borders Books===

After checking their shopping bags at the front check-out, Hinata led Naruto back to the music and video portion of the store. Naruto looked about and asked, "What did you want to get here?"

Hinata smiled and pointed to her left. "Sam told me that I might find some music that I might like here." As Sam and Hinata had grown closer in their friendship, Sam had lent her a portable CD player and samples of different Earth-style music. While she hadn't developed any particular tastes yet, she found certain types of classical music, as Sam had called it, pleasing to her ears. And, she found the concept of nearly a 100 people gathering as a group, and playing different instruments in such harmony, completely fascinating.

While browsing the various display racks, Naruto noticed the movie section. "If you don't mind, I wanna see if they have any DVDs I like." He asked, then added. "Is there anything you'd like me to look for?"

Hinata looked up from CDs she going through. "I'll look later, please." She gave Naruto a smile. "I don't think your taste in movies matches mine, so I'd best look for myself." She saw the disappointed look on Naruto's face and gave his arm a squeeze. "It was sweet of you to ask though, and we can look together later, if you still want to." She took Naruto's smile as a yes. Hinata gave Naruto a light push. "Go on, I know you want to find some more Jackie Chan movies." She giggled as Naruto raced over to the movie section.

===Nearby at Radio Shack===

Ric turned to Daniel and asked, "So what do you think?" He held up a personal dictation recorder.

Daniel rubbed his chin. "I have to admit, it's an interesting idea. But what happens when the batteries run down?"

Ric lowered his voice. "I imagine his... special friend could bring them some more, along with additional message tapes."

Daniel gently slapped his own head. "Of course. I can't believe I overlooked that."

Ric gave Daniel a wry look, "What, that we have a mystical toad delivery service? Hell, I thought everyone had access to that trick."

Daniel chuckled and shook his head. "You're right." He looked about before continuing. "As a matter of fact, you seem to be far more comfortable with the weirdness surrounding them than most of us." Ric shrugged in reply; Daniel saw that it was time for a change of subject. "So, what's for dinner tonight?"

Ric added some extra tapes and batteries to his hand basket before answering. "That's a secret. I've seen how those two work... they would have the info before we left the mall."

Daniel nodded in agreement and sighed. "You're right, they are good." He glanced to his right and added, "Do you think they're behaving?"

Ric added a second recorder to his basket. "Hinata, yes. Naruto..." He paused in thought. "... he gave his word. That's good enough for me, barring any external factors." Daniel nodded in agreement. Ric looked at his basket then turned to Daniel. "By the way, were did everybody else go?"

===3:15 PM, Borders===

Glancing at Naruto enthusiastically going through the Martial Arts movie section, she rounded the corner of a display and... almost tripped over a kneeling shopper. Moving backwards in surprise, she said, "I'm sorry, I didn't..." She went silent as she recognized the face of person before her. Looking up with smiling hazel eyes and an equally friendly smile was the young Sergeant that had delivered the large metal case to Ric-san. Hinata added, "I'm sorry."

Molly stood up and replied, "No harm done." At that, she looked closely at Hinata and nodded to herself. "Odd, I would guessed that you had blue eyes." She smiled disarmingly at Hinata's confused look and added, "I... we've only seen you with shades on. All of us in admin had a running bet on what your real eye color was." Still surprised by the chance encounter, Hinata only nodded in reply. Molly frowned at herself. "I've forgotten my manners, sorry." She held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Molly, Molly Cameron."

Hinata recognized the Earth gesture and responded in kind. As she shook the young woman's hand Hinata noted the hardness of her hand. '_She knows taijutsu, of some kind_.' With a shyness that surprised herself, Hinata replied, "Hello, I'm Hinata Hyuuga, pleased to meet you." She peeked at the CDs in the woman's hand and added, "You like this music too?"

Molly looked at the CDs in Hinata's hand. "Ah, you mean classical? Hmm, some of it." She leafed through the CDs in hands. "Actually, I was looking for some examples of classical guitar pieces... I'd heard that Mauro Giuliani was pretty good... and I got kinda lucky."

Hinata, not entirely sure about the subject, chose the polite response. "I see."

Molly sensed her discomfort and switched gears. Knowing that any conversation concerning SGC off-base was a big no-no, she decided to quench her curiosity in a different way. "Forgive me for asking, but could you do me a favor?"

Hinata could tell the woman before her was nervous. She smiled reassuringly and replied, "If possible, yes."

Molly leaned forward and asked quietly, "The next time you see Major Von Kreiger, could ask him if he remembers someone named Gunner Billy?"

Hinata blinked in surprise and replied, "Why don't you ask him yourself? I'm sure he'd be happy to answer your question, he drove us to this mall and is probably close by. Is this Billy person a friend of yours?"

Now it was Molly's turn to look surprised. "Oh. No, he's my older brother. But I couldn't possibly bother the Major, he's..."

Hinata waved her hand to stop the young woman. "A very nice man." She recalled the conversations between Jack, Jeri, and Ric. "Did your brother go on... missions with Ric-san?"

Out of the blue, Naruto peeked over Hinata's shoulder. "Did someone say missions?" He looked at Molly and added in a louder voice than necessary, "Hey, you're the one that brought Ric the metal box full of neat stuff."

Hinata resisted the urge to face-palm as she turned and grabbed Naruto. She looked at Molly and said, "Excuse us for a moment."

Molly raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

===April 10, 5:10 PM, Kage Suite, The Golden Leaf, Konoha===

The suite was an unexpected gift from the Hokage, and gratefully accepted. She was expecting to acquire much humbler quarters given her current financial situation. Gaara had decided, after discussing it with her and Kankuro, to surrender a large amount of their family's fortune to Konoha as an apology for Suna's role in the invasion. Temari sighed contentedly and sank further into the over-sized bathtub... it was moments like this that made the hot, dusty trip to Konoha so worthwhile; and, the bath salts she'd acquired at the Iron Kimono felt wonderful on her skin. As much as she loved Suna, it wasn't the friendliest locale for soft, un-weathered skin.

She smiled to herself as considered her baby brother's novel dilemma... all the young kunoichi's vying for his attention. All of them would kill for the chance to come to Konoha and acquire the quality feminine wares to be had here... if they knew about them. Temari chuckled as she toyed with the idea of bringing some... attendants on her next visit.

She openly envied Konoha: their seemingly unending supply of water; the abundance of shade provided by their signature trees; luxurious trade goods... and the wonderful shops that sold them. Temari smiled at the memory of yesterday's doings; she had met with Tenten and browsed several shops that she hadn't known of, including Matsumachi's Bakery... and their heavenly variety of buns.

Then the memories of the Chuunin invasion crept back; she sank lower into the water and let out a sad sigh. The pressures and desperation that had led to that insane scheme, and her father's alliance with Orochimaru... were no more, thank Kami. Konoha's unbelievably mild terms, given what the attack had cost them, had removed many of the issues that had gnawed at Suna's Grand Council. Unfortunately, the shame of Suna's betrayal, and the bitterness of those who lost someone because of it, still lingered on like the stench of a poorly concealed corpse.

She stared at the tiled ceiling. "Oh father, what were you thinking." '_Decades of friendship gone in a single bloody, chaotic day._' She submerged herself completely into the warm water... then suddenly sat upright. '_Something is happening here, I know it._' She exited the tub, snatched a bath towel, and strode to the bedroom.

After barely drying herself, Temari crawled to the center of the daimyo-sized bed, laid on her stomach, cupped her chin in her hands, and pondered her dilemma. Her mission, as Gaara had described it, was over. Her shinobi-tuned tendency to discount anything she hadn't learned first-hand aside, Naruto _was_ alive... somewhere. She knew enough about Tsunade, and her ties to Naruto, to be sure of that. But the story that he had been selected for an S-ranked mission, and with the Hyuuga heir no less... that was pure lizard droppings.

Naruto did have her respect... he _had_ spared Gaara's life, an incomprehensible act of mercy. Temari shook her head, '_No, that's not totally fair, it has worked out for the best._' While Temari would be hard-pressed to describe her baby brother as normal... the previous version: the murderous, anti-social Gaara, was missed by _no one._

Temari snorted in amusement. Suna was actually a rather cheerful place now, and experiencing a novel trend... visitors coming for amusement and commerce, something that the Merchants Guild didn't mind at all.

Temari put her pleasant musings aside... no, she couldn't imagine the loud, opinionated Genin being sent on a critical mission _without_ the supervision of an experienced Jonin... and they were _all_ present or accounted for; she had made sure of that fact. And the Hyuuga heir? Temari snorted in disbelief. She had seen enough the first time she had come to Konoha to know that was a lie as well. While Hinata had shown some semblance of skill, and courage, in her brutal fight with her cousin, the kunoichi she had seen, seemed barely up to the task of standing up to her own shadow, let alone an S-rank mission.

Temari rolled onto her back and lightly ran her hands over her nude body... she may as well give the Konoha ANBU a show to properly distract them. '_No, no way. Something happened while Naruto was on a mission with another team. Something unexpected... something that altered the way Konoha conducted its day-to-day routine._' The 3 elite Genin Teams that had fought during the invasion were now in total disarray, and 2 of the Genin had been reassigned. The Nara had virtually dropped out of sight, that was odd enough. And the worthless pink-haired kunoichi... she had seen her... had seriously transformed. Temari was very skilled at reading people; something had happened to Naruto's teammate. Sakura's bearing, and walk... screamed change; she didn't need a casual conversation to know that Sakura was at a whole new level of confidence, and focus.

Temari glanced at the unopened package near the bed... something she had picked up at the Iron Kimono. She grinned in anticipation, Hotaru-san did have the best selection of kunoichi training aids... Temari bit her lower lip to maintain focus, '_Do I stay and dig some more, or go back and report to Gaara?_'

She toyed with the idea of seeking out the Yamanaka heir. Temari had heard that she was one of the better sources of gossip in Konoha, then cast the idea aside. '_I don't have a real excuse to approach her in that way._' The Yamanaka's, and the Nara's, were known for their wits, and their perceptiveness. Taking them lightly was a bad idea. Given that Temari hadn't even exchanged casual greetings with the Yamanaka heir... she decided that she would have to change that situation. All she needed was the right subject to provide an excuse to approach her.

After several minutes of semi-distracted deliberation, her fingers were beginning to wander. Her knees pressed against her breasts as she skillfully probed, and penetrated, both her nether portals. Temari smiled after an audible gasp of pleasure, '_Yes, I'll tell Gaara, and find an excuse to come back... Kankuro will love the opportunity of play Clan Lord and mess in the Council_.' A devilish grin spread across her face as she rolled onto hands and knees, moving towards the unopened box. '_And I'll pick some lucky kunoichis as well. Perhaps it's time to narrow the field of candidates for Gaara's heart._'

===Saturday, April 12, 8:00 AM, Moscow, FSB HQ===

Generál-Leytenánt Lebed sipped his morning tea and stared at the thin bundle of documents laying before him. Not for the first time, and probably not for the last time, he silently cursed fate as he considered the situation before him. While his grand niece had reacted brutally to being struck, the crux of the matter was the boorish and vulgar behavior of a ne kulturny man-child. He sighed as he acknowledged the reality of the situation: that the wealth, influence, and power of that man's father would turn right and wrong upside down.

His grip tightened on his podstakannik as he considered all that was wrong with his beloved Russia; rampant cronyism... in truth, probably worse than during the Soviet Era; malignant corruption, once again, worse than before; gangsters and criminals parading their power and wealth in the open... and their grip on the motherland, and their political allies... it almost made him ill to think of it.

And now this nightmare was at his doorstep, and all because of a drunken brawl. Vasiliy Isayovich Lebed was nobody's fool, he knew that Irina's rank and position in the FSB, nor her success as a sword against Mother Russia's enemies wouldn't matter a wit at this point.

Officially, she was protected by the state; unofficially, she was in the cross-hairs of one of Russia's new elite, vultures feasting on Russia's wealth... the grasping, and almost always protected nouveau riche. An earlier conversation with one of his (few) trusted friends within the FSB had apprised him of his foe; Maxim Ilyich Federov was a loathsome cockroach in human form... and very well connected.

For a brief moment, Lebed considered revoking Irina's house arrest and properly locking her up. He quickly discarded the idea as a foolish gambit. No, men like Federov had long arms... long enough to reach her even if she was in the female equivalent of the Black Dolphin prison. Even so, while he assumed Federov would seek revenge, nothing he had been told pointed to Federov being reckless. If Irina was out of Russia by sundown, that would hopefully settle the matter.

He smiled to himself as considered what he was about to do to his cunning, but affable rival... enemy was too strong a word to be used for General Hammond. Lebed looked at the clock on his desk and decided to give Irina a few more hours sleep before he summoned her, and informed her of a change in posts. He doubted that she would object too much to being reunited with... him.

Lebed smiled grimly as he thought about Von Kreiger, the man who had proven to be as sharp a thorn in the paw of the great Russian bear as any it's past foes. Some of his peers had breathed a sigh of relief after he had been relieved of field duty for actually doing his job... killing enemies of his nation. That being said, Von Kreiger's actions had led to a confrontation with an usually stupid diplomat, even for the American State Department. The rumors of that encounter were rather lively.

He wondered at the possibility that Federov might try to harm Irina while posted at SGC. Lebed grinned at the possibility that Federov would discover why Von Kreiger had earned the nickname, Prizak. The Ghost. No... he would mind that at all.

===2:40 PM, Macy's Home Store===

"I can't believe I got talked into this." Jack grumbled under his breath.

Sam looked up from the assortment of coverlets she debating over. "Did you say something, sir?" She gave him a gimlet eye and a slightly threatening smile.

Jack's face was model of bland innocence. "I said that I think you should go with the third one."

Sam's eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding, right?" She partly exposed Jack's choice. "This is _not_..." Sam wagged the corner of the scarlet and purple coverlet. "...Hinata." Sam shook her head in disbelief, then stood up and examined a different stack. After poking a bit through a new stack... "Ah ha. Here we go..." Sam grabbed a packaged bundle and tossed to Jack. "That's it."

Jack looked a sample design picture and nodded. "Not bad." He smiled to himself as turned the packaged item about in examination. "It might even be a nice design for a Hawaiian shirt."

Sam gave Jack a sly smile. "At least it wouldn't cause people's eyes to bleed looking at it."

Jack frowned in response Sam's jibe at his favorite shirt. "Hey woman, respect the shirt."

Sam bit off her reply and said instead, "Checkout, and you get to hide it in the back of Ric's green beast."

===3:35 PM, Border's===

Naruto examined his prizes again, 2 new Jackie Chan's, a rare Bruce Lee... or so Jack had said during a discussion about Kung Fu videos. And a DVD suggested by Ric... Full Time Killer. Naruto had put Hinata's scolding behind him... he had been a bit too loud earlier. Besides, he had looked at Hinata awhile ago, talking, and smiling... Hinata had a very pretty smile, with the woman from SGC.

Naruto chuckled to himself, he had easily remembered the young, red-haired woman. She was one of the few people he'd met at SCG that didn't tower over him, or Hinata. In fact, Naruto was taller than her, and that was saying something. He looked up from his stack of DVDs and noticed 2 sets of feet before him. Naruto sprang to his feet and noted the short stack of CDs Hinata was holding. Naruto glanced at her selections. "Didn't you find anything good?"

Hinata shrugged as she leafed through her choices. "I guess I'm still looking for my... taste in music." She had listened to several CDs lent to her by Sam and Janet-sensei, but nothing had clicked for her yet. Even with all the time Hinata had spent at SGC, she was still getting use to the difference between here, and... home.

Their trip to the mall had been a wonder and delight for her, but it had also accented the vast difference between here, and Konoha. Even something as simple as music was striking. The people of this world seemed to be constantly surrounded by music, of all kinds, and singing... it was really quite remarkable.

Molly gave Hinata a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Remember Hinata, Rome wasn't built in a day. You'll find something you like, I'm sure of it." Molly turned her attention to the DVDs Naruto was holding and nodded approvingly. "Those are some good ones." She frowned in thought and added, "But you're missing some titles."

Naruto cocked his head in puzzlement. "I suppose so, but these were the ones recommended to me."

"Don't get me wrong..." Molly waved her hand at Naruto's selection. "...they're all very good choices." She stepped over to the display rack and looked it over. After a quick scan, she pulled out 2 more DVDs. "These are also worth owning." She handed one to Naruto, and the other to Hinata.

Hinata looked at the clamshell cover, it had a picture of a beautiful woman in a fighting pose, holding a sword. "Wing Chun...?"

Molly tapped the DVD with her finger. "It's got a kick-butt female hero, and it's fun to watch. What more do you need to know?" Hinata smiled, nodded in agreement, and added it to her stack.

Naruto looked at his DVD and smiled. "Iron Monkey..." He snickered as he looked at the cover art, "This looks like something Lee would want to see." He added it to his stack and grinned. "Thanks."

Molly smiled and replied. "After you watch it, I'll let you in on a secret that you probably won't pick up on."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. He declared, "I bet I'll find out first."

Molly smirked in reply. "And I bet you won't... unless you speak, and read Chinese." Naruto shook his head no. She smiled and added, "Just have fun watching it, don't sweat the details."

Hinata reached out and tapped Naruto's arm. "I think our time is up." She pointed with her chin. They all turned and saw Ric walking towards them with a smile.

Naruto leaned to one side and saw Daniel standing at the entrance to the store, holding a couple of plastic shopping bags. He also noticed Molly edging backwards and said, "Aren't you going to say hello?"

The point became moot as Ric got within ear-shot of their little group. "Well, fancy meeting you here Sergeant Cameron." Ric looked at Naruto and Hinata. "So, did you guys have a good time?" They both smiled and nodded in reply. "Excellent. Given how things went, I'm sure that you'll get more opportunities get out and about again."

Hinata gently pushed Molly forward. "She has a question to ask you." A brief moment of panic crossed Molly's face.

Ric smiled and crossed his arms. "Do you now?"

Molly stood silent for a moment then asked, "Ah... do you remember someone named... Gunner Billy?"

Ric went still at the mention of that name and stared at Molly's face. After a long moment of thought, he shook his head in wonder. He replied in a soft voice, "Now there's a name I haven't heard in ages." He looked again at Molly, then snapped his fingers. "The goat girl."

Naruto and Hinata both did a double-take. Naruto spoke up. "Goat girl?"

Ric chuckled and smiled at Molly, then glanced at Naruto. "The man she mentioned once showed me a picture of his kid sister. A skinny little thing about yea high..." Ric held out his hand. "...with pigtails, dressed in bib overalls, holding a kid... a baby goat that is, and had the biggest smile on her face." Ric chuckled again and shook his head. "It's a small world... so, how is he? I'm sorry to admit that I haven't kept in proper touch." Ric smiled apologetically.

Molly's face unfroze and she returned the smile. "He's fine, and still in the Rangers... he wrote that he was getting boarded for E7 this year."

Ric chuckled and shook his head slowly. "So Gunner Billy became a lifer... damn." Ric got a faraway look in his eyes. "Unbelievable. So, is he still crazy for Shaolin Kung Fu?"

Molly smiled proudly. "He's his Sifu's number one assistant. And he's won every major tournament he's entered." Naruto and Hinata easily sensed the pride she radiated.

Ric's face went thoughtful, then he nodded. "Right. That settles it..." He looked at Naruto and Hinata. "I trust you won't object to another guest for dinner tonight?" They both shook their heads no in reply.

Molly shook her head. "I couldn't possibly..."

Ric chopped her off with a wave of his hand. "I won't hear of it." He smiled at Molly. "The kid sister of one the best men I've ever served with will _not_ be turned away from my table... unless you have prior plans, like a hot date perhaps?"

Molly shook her head no. "I'm sorry sir. I honestly appreciate the invitation... but I'd promised to swap a duty shift with one of my friends tonight."

Ric masked his disappointment, he'd hoped to learn more about her older brother's activities over dinner. "There's no need to be sorry, keeping a promise to a friend is important too." After a slight pause he added, "Please give your brother my best regards and tell him that I'm _very_ sorry that I lost touch..." He gave Molly an fond smile. "...with my gang of trouble-makers. And, that I'm proud that he's come so far since we first met."

Molly's cheerful smile returned. "I'll write him an email tonight." Then she gave Ric an odd smile. "He had an infuriating habit of only telling me vague stories about his... crazy el-tee."

Ric chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh. I guess I was a hand full back in those days." His face turned introspective... after a long moment, he sighed and gave Molly a sad smile. "Please tell your brother to let everyone know that I miss them all. It was an honor to have served with them... and that I wish all my friends, and old comrades-in-arms well."

Molly Cameron finally understood why her brother talked about Von Kreiger the way he did. She nodded and replied, "I will, sir. I promise." She turned to Hinata and Naruto and smiled, "It was nice to meet you all. I hope we get a chance to talk again."

Naruto grinned widely. "I hope so too..." He pointed to the Iron Monkey DVD. "You promised to tell me the secret in this."

Hinata gave Molly a smile and bowed. "And I want to learn more about the music you like."

The twinkle in Molly's eyes returned. "It a deal." She turned to Ric, "Please excuse me sir, I need to get back now." At that, she nodded to everyone and headed for the check-out counter.

Ric watched Cameron leave, then noticed that Daniel was standing by the entrance wearing a quizzical smile, and holding several bags... more than he remembered previously. He glanced at Naruto and Hinata. "Come on, we need to get going too." Ric gave the nins a sly smile and added, "And I have a big surprise for both of you later." He saw the look of anticipation on Naruto's face and added, "And no Naruto, it's _not_ edible... but you'll like it anyway."

Hinata giggled at the disappointed look on Naruto's face.

===Saturday, April 12, 9:05 AM, Somewhere in Moscow===

He stared at the caller-ID for several rings before answering; he flipped it open with a flick of his wrist. "What do you want... infidel." The caution and tension in his voice was plain enough.

"Ghalib, is that anyway to answer a call?" Ghalib Umarov could sense the oily smile on the caller's face. The voice continued, "No matter. I've heard about your... difficulties."

Ghalib snarled back, "Get to the point."

"Why so tense, Ghalib?" There was a deliberate pause. "Perhaps an opportunity has come your way, yes?"

The shivering, small-time Chechen gangster resisted the impulse to fling his mobile against a nearby stained, and cracked apartment wall. The fact that he had people looking for him, and _not_ to talk, helped him focus. As much as he despised the man connected to the voice, he had no wiggle room to spare... he needed a break, and a considerable sum of money, quickly. "Talk. I will listen... for the moment."

The chuckle he heard chilled his spine. "Excellent. I'm sure you won't regret it, Ghalib." Again, a long pause. "There is someone of interest that I'd like you to take care of." Umarov watched his dwindling posse of underlings stir in curiosity... they knew their boss was in a jam and could sense that this was no ordinary phone call.

"Who." Ghalib licked his lips nervously. "And how much?"

"Ah, good. Now we can get down to business." The pause was shorter this time. "There is a woman that needs to be taken care of."

Umarov snorted in disgust, he didn't need a petty hit job on some pizda. "For this you call me? I don't need..."

His retort died when he heard that chuckle again. "My dear Ghalib... I told you it would be worth your time. A man in your position has so much to do, and so _little_ time." Ghalib flinched at those words. The infidel vyblyadok knew his troubles were closing in on him. "Now then, this is no ordinary woman, she is very special."

Umarov sat down, shook out one of his few remaining cigarettes from a half-crumpled pack, and lit it. "How special?" Ghalib took a long drag on his smoke and waited for the other shoe to drop.

The voice replied, "Hmm... how to say this..." The pause plucked at his last good nerve. "What do you suppose the favored woman of _the_ Shabah is worth?"

Ghalib Umarov shot to his feet as though he had sat on a live tazer. An odd mixture of fear, elation, and dread ran through him. Before he replied, an uncommon (for him) moment of caution gripped him. Umarov growled out, "_N__e pizdí__!_ If such a woman was close by, I would have heard of her." This wasn't actually true, but Ghalib Umarov did think rather highly of himself.

The voice coming through his mobile chuckled again. "Perhaps. Then again, the fact that she is none other than Printsessa Smerti _might_ be the reason you don't know."

Umarov yanked the cell phone away from his ear and stared at it as though it had tried to bite him. He yelled at the mobile, "_Poshël ty!_ If Allah wills my death, it shall _not_ be by the hand of a _woman!"_ For the second time, Umarov almost threw his mobile across the room. While he wasn't a total coward, he wasn't crazy either. After a few moments he stopped shaking. By now, all of crew was staring at him with looks of curiosity, and fear.

Umarov heard the voice faintly call to him, "Ghalib, Ghalib... don't be a fool..." He put the cell back to his ear and the voice continued, "...do you think I would send you to your death? Please, we have both gained much from our past dealings with each other. No Ghalib, I would not tell you of this _unless_ you had a chance to profit by it."

Umarov took a deep breath and replied, "Speak, and make it good."

He felt that smile again. "Very well, it's quite simple; she has gotten into trouble, and is currently under arrest." While it wasn't the whole truth, it served Fink's needs. "She has been stripped of her duties, and her weapons... she is as good as naked now."

Umarov could barely believe it. The bounty on her alone could clear his debt... with cash to spare... then he recalled the other detail about her. He replied in low voice, "And what of _him_." Even though Umarov hadn't taken up Jihad against the godless... even he knew of Shabah, and what would happen if _he_ saw you. "You said..."

The voice interrupted him with a silky voice. "He has gone away, she is _alone_ now."

Umarov stiffed in shock. Shabah had been Moscow? He silently praised Allah, and his Prophet... his end was not written, yet. Even so, he replied warily, "Truly?"

"Yes Ghalib, he has returned to America." The voice reassured him, for a brief moment. Then Umarov's imagination took hold of him; if she was Shabah's woman... he _would_ come back, and Shaytan would be close behind him. No... this was no better than inviting death through the front door with sweetmeats and flowers. The voice sensed his hesitation... and his fears. The voice added, "Five kilos of Karachi for this deed... _and_ a possible buyer for the woman, a buyer who will outbid _any_ offer for her... but only if she is _alive_."

Umarov silently raged inside, this... svóloch' attached to the voice knew his predicament. Umarov had fucked up on a major delivery... it wasn't his fault that his mule had run into the only honest musora in Moscow. All of that didn't matter though, there were some very bad, and very powerful men looking for him. Not to mention the drugs, and the up-front delivery fee that he had gotten.

Even so, this fish stank. The lizard part of his brain told him to run away from this deal... no, it was an offer. The last part was the clue... the voice wanted Printsessa Smerti alive, and for him to do the dirty work. Umarov might be a small-time thug and wannabe crime lord, but he wasn't stupid... the fact that he wasn't dead, or a guest of the FSIN and a resident at Vladimir Central said as much. Umarov grinned at the realization of his place in this scheme... he decided to test his position. "Alive you say... that makes things much _more_ difficult. Perhaps if you made the tea sweeter, let's say... 5 kilos of Class A bingdu."

After a long pause, the voice replied, "Two."

Umarov grinned in delight; he calmly replied, "Three."

He heard the voice sigh. "Done."

Umarov made a hand-sign to his minions gather weapons and get ready. His confidence, and bravado fully restored, he grabbed a pen and paper. "She's as good as yours. Give me the details, and half up front." Umarov motioned to one of his brighter and more trusted men, Hasim, and handed him a note asking him to inquire about the current bounty of the woman. Umarov scowled at his look of alarm after he read the note and waved him off. Then got to the business at hand, in his best assured voice he continued, "Now then, you mentioned a buyer... a generous buyer."

===Saturday, April 12, 8:58 AM, Ordzhonikidze Moscow Plant no.37===

The temporary command center was well-concealed within an abandoned, dilapidated factory. It went unnoticed by the Moscow Militsiya due to contacts within it, and well-placed bribes. The former warehouse was abuzz with operatives quietly fulfilling their assigned tasks. Despite the bribes, sentries disguised as members of OMON ringed the encampment. They insured that random youths, punks, druggies, and the overly-curious from discovering their presence... a tractor-trailer with commercial logos; a trio of surplus GAZ-66 box-bodied trucks, still painted and marked for OMON service. Rounding the pool of vehicles: 4 untasked G280's; a pair of gleaming BMW 745Li's... and a trio of Ladas; a 110 Sedan and a pair of Nivas, all marked up as Moscow Militsiya vehicles.

Summoned by a MIB, Eriko Shimazu exited the middle GAZ, it's rear portion converted into comfortable living quarters, and walked towards the command trailer. What had started out as a simple evaluation mission, Mae-sama wanting to be sure that Irina Lebed was truly suitable for her most favored grandson, had suddenly taken a potentially serious turn.

For Eriko, the original task alone would have been a trial. From the first moment she and her cousin had met, Eriko had felt drawn to him. And, hearing Obasama constantly speak of him as she covertly monitored his growing up had not diminished her feelings. Only by holding onto the 7 virtues, and regularly meditating on the clan's path to enlightenment, was she able to resist her darker thoughts... permanently ridding herself of a rival for his heart.

Everyone looked as she entered the command center, camouflaged as a commercial trailer, with only the Commander, Ryan, bowing. Everyone else resumed on their various tasks. Eriko took the nearest empty rolling chair and sat down. "What's the latest intel?"

Ryan picked up her notes and replied, "Federov's chief of security has left the estate in one vehicle with 2 bodyguards and a driver..." She checked her notes. "...who happens to be ex-Spetsnaz, and likely to be a skilled tactical driver and shooter." She glanced over at one operative who shook her head no. She resumed her report. "Other than that, we've got no increased activity, nor any unusual communications traffic. On the plus side, we've gotten no indication that his son's condition has taken a turn for the worse."

Eriko considered the news and asked, "Do we have any solid information concerning the nature of the son's injuries?"

Novikov stood up and replied, "We were able to get a fairly decent account of the fight from 3 eye-witnesses." Novikov paused and sighed softly. "My best estimate given my knowledge of Irina Lebed's training and skill level... Federov's son, without major corrective surgery, has been crippled in terms of normal mobility. My best estimate is that he's lost the use of both arms for at least a year, after surgical repairs." He sat down and shrugged. "He is alive, but he'll never be the same again."

Eriko pondered that and asked, "Do you have fuller profile on Federov?" She took the look on Ryan's face as more bad news."

Ryan replied, "Yes... officially, he's number 6 in the top 10 Russian billionaires. Unofficially, he's probably number 4 due to his involvement human trafficking, primarily females... age is not an issue; involvement in the drug trade, primarily as an enabler, not as a drug lord per se... he intentionally cedes that role to the Bratva; and, arms and technology sales to anyone for the right price, most of his steady customers on our clan's 'stability threat' list.

Those are the major items, he has a number of lesser activities that are more for peddling influence than making money. He uses them to gain political influence and open doors for him in the commercial sector." Ryan's face openly displayed disgust. "Pedo-porn, 'trained' sex partners, and concealed full and partial ownership of special invitation-only clubs." Ryan laid her notes back down. "And, because of his... special friends, he is essentially untouchable by INTERPOL, and the Russian police are helpless against him." Ryan's face was neutral but for those who knew her well, Ryan's dark-green eyes were cold and hard with anger. She more than half-hoped that Eriko-sama would order her to move against him.

Eriko read the look in Eilís's eyes and motioned for her sit down. "Thank you for diligence, I fully understand your feelings, but he's _not_ our chief concern, yet. By the way, has the Dai-kage replied to my last message?"

Novikov replied, "No Printsessa. Receipt of your message was confirmed, but there's been no response from Japan.

Eriko quietly sighed. "Very well, I'll proceed with my current orders; monitor and assess, and only intercede if the subject in is danger." Eriko frowned in thought for a moment then asked, "Has there been any change in activity by her official watch dogs?"

Novikov shook his head. "Except for a exchange of cars in front of her apartment building, no. The team assigned to monitor her apartment has reported her as still asleep." Grigory let out a rumbling chuckle. "Apparently she snores rather loudly."

Eriko smiled to herself. _'Well, that's strike against her in my mind._' "I see. I'll have to include in my report."

One of operatives, a young man from one of the clan's hidden enclaves, spoke up. "Federov's security chief is placing a call on his cell." Everyone fell silent at his comment; he added, "The number is not in our database... he's talking to someone named Ghalib, no last name mentioned yet." An operative 2 chairs away entered the name into her computer and started a search.

Novikov joined the man, put on a headset and listened in. After a few minutes, he turned and spoke. "He's a Chechen, I'm sure of it." Fifteen minutes later, Novikov took off the headset and gently laid it down. He turned to Eriko and began relating the conversation.

Eriko's eyes hardened as she absorbed the details.

===Saturday, April 12, 9:45 AM, Irina Lebed's Apartment===

Irina opened one eye and reached under a pillow... the absence of her favorite pistol, the one she affectionately called Motya, a CZ-82, caused the other eye to open and glare balefully at the ringing telephone. On her second attempt, she grabbed the cordless handset and put it to her ear. She growled out, "Alë."

"Dobroe utro, Irinya." The cheerful voice of Razin filled her ear. Irina mumbled a reply. Razin chuckled and added, "He wishes to see you."

Irina rolled onto her back and groaned. "What time do I get shot?"

Razin's laughter felt like a train wreck in her head. He lowered his voice and replied softly, "You are going away Irinya."

Irina snorted and scratched her stomach. "I thought they stopped sending people to Siberia."

Razin replied, "Nyet. You are going much further east."

Irina sat up and immediately regretted it, her stomach felt like a trio of cossacks were dancing in it. "Radi Boga! Please don't tell me I'm going to North Korea." She successfully resisted the urge to vomit. Irina used her best little girl whine (and crossed her fingers), "Tell Dedushka Vasya I'll be good, I promise." She staggered out bed and headed unevenly towards the bathroom.

Razin whispered. "He is sending you to America... to him."

Irina stiffened and her eyes shot open. "Do not joke about such things, Dyadya Stanya. I'm not in the mood." When no response came after a long moment, Irina felt tears coming from her eyes. After she gained control of herself, she asked, "When?"

"You leave today, after you countersign the documents the Generál has waiting for you. Only pack to travel, I will make sure everything else follows you." As Irina finally made it to the bathroom Razin added, "Can you be ready in a half an hour?"

Irina stared into the mirror and winced at the sight of the bruise on her left cheek. "I can be ready in 15 minutes."

===Saturday, April 12, 10:25 AM, Luzhniki Central Stadium, Moscow===

The meeting and exchange between Fink and Umarov was brief, and to the point. Both had gotten what they wanted. For Fink, it was simple enough, a desperate, small-time Chechen gangster had been hooked into doing his boss' dirty work. He deemed the possibility of Umarov getting cold feet and settling for a half a loaf was small... he had pegged Ghalib long before as greedy and vain. The status jump he would gain from grabbing Irina Lebed was more than enough motivation for Umarov to carry through with the operation. And the fact that Umarov badly needed the 2 remaining kilos of heroin to keep from being gunned down by an angry drug lord didn't hurt.

As his driver took him to his favorite restaurant for lunch, where he would await news from Ghalib, he frowned at the one aspect of the plan... giving Umarov a kilo and half of bingdu. He sincerely hoped that Ghalib wouldn't be foolish enough to treat himself to that high-quality North Korean meth before the snatch was concluded...

===Saturday, April 12, 9:50 AM, Ordzhonikidze Moscow Plant no.37===

Eriko stopped pacing long enough to ask the communications tech, "Any reply on our update?"

The seated young woman half-bowed with an apologetic look on her face. "No Eriko-josei, only an acknowledgment of the message."

Eriko raged behind a mask of calm. '_Why won't Obasama reply? The mission I was sent on has gone to shit..._' Eriko came to a halt. '_She's testing me... she's putting it all on me._' Eriko considered her options: the Clan's rules barred large-scale operations in the open without the Dai-kage's approval; like-wise direct interference with the internal affairs of nations, again without express approval. Eriko clenched her fists in frustration. '_Fine. If it's all on me, then so be it._'

She rounded on her heels and faced Ryan and Novikov, both of them already staring at her. "Alert everyone. We're going to move on this, and I'll take full responsibility for what happens next." The smiles from her subordinates helped reassure her. "I want a reinforced shadowing team on Falcon, fully kitted out in police uniforms and plain-clothes. Tell the medical team in Zil number one to get ready to travel. Assemble a strike team to trail the escort team on Falcon. Inform everyone tasked on the Falcon detail that lethal force is authorized, but non-involved causalities are to be avoided... and no use of... special skills, that will entirely fall on me." Eriko took a deep breath and asked, "Ideas and insights are welcome."

Novikov tapped the map before him. "Unfortunately, the enemy has the initiative. We don't have enough information on Umarov to know where he would stage his assets." He frowned in thought and added. "Given that he wants Falcon alive, he has two options: take her while she's at the apartment, or when she's in transit."

Ryan spoke up. "It isn't much to go on, but I've learned that Umarov is in serious trouble with the Solntsevskaya Bratva, he muffed a major delivery of drugs to them. From what we've overheard, he has to deliver Falcon to Federov, the promised reward is his _only_ realistic chance to escape retribution for his failure. While it's doubtful that he'll be shy about violence, I agree with Misha, he'll do his utmost to take Falcon alive." She added silently, '_At least I hope so._'

Novikov looked up from the Moscow map. "If that is the case, then his best opportunity to get away with Falcon is..." He put his finger on the map. "...somewhere between FSB headquarters and the airport."

Eriko looked at the map and asked, "Why is that?"

Novikov replied, "Because the FSB will turn Moscow upside down to find Falcon..." He frowned at Eriko. "...or insure she isn't taken alive. She's a high-level operative and the propaganda value of her capture is too great to ignore. The current government would look like idiots if that happened." He added with a frown, "Dead heroes are always useful."

Eriko sat down and accepted a hot cup of tea from a clan operative. "Why that scenario? Umarov has no solid ties to the Majlisul Shura, or any of the major players amongst them."

Ryan spoke up. "The Federation government won't make that assumption. They'll automatically game that out as a possibility, and act accordingly."

Novikov nodded in agreement. "I agree. At any rate, Umarov's best chance to get Falcon out of Moscow before OMON and the Militsiya block the exits out and begin hunting for her, is to take her as she transits to an airport, probably Sheremetyevo. I know of Generál Lebed, he'll not leave Falcon in Moscow... and he'll not assume that Federov won't seek revenge for his son." Federov's face darkened. "If I had a child, or someone I cared about, in Federov's cross-hairs, I'd get them out of Russia as quickly as possible." Novikov added in low voice, "Better they were dead than in that man's hands."

Eriko noted Novikov's shift in mood and set it aside, for the moment. She stood up and asked, "How many airports do we have to concern ourselves with?"

Ryan glanced at Misha before replying. "In theory, all of them; however, given their respective locations, we should know which one within... 20 minutes after Falcon leaves FSB HQ."

Eriko sat quietly for a moment then asked, "Is there a possibility that Falcon could go directly to the airport?"

Novikov shrugged in response. "Perhaps. However, given that she's technically under house arrest, and the fact that she's probably leaving the country... there will be certain documents that must be signed. Every member of the FSB has to do that." He paused in thought and added, "If she does have the documents sent to her, our operatives watching her directly should be able determine that. Falcon lives close to Poklonnaya Hill, if that scenario plays out, we'll quickly know which airport she's going to."

Eriko stood up. "Very well, begin the deployment and we'll adjust as the situation changes."

===April 12, 5:45 PM, O'Donnell Lodge===

Naruto looked wide-eyed at the black rectangular device in Jack's hand. "Really, it can do that?"

Jack responded by pushing the PLAY button on the recorder. "_This can record any voice or sound that the microphone can pick up._" The voice was a tad tinny, but it was clearly Jack's. He asked, "So what do you think?"

Naruto jumped off the couch and yelled, "THAT IS SO COOL!" His voice carried throughout the lodge. He leaned forward to take a closer look. "So I can send... talking letters to Baa-chan?"

Daniel, sitting in an over-sized chair near the fireplace, looked up from his book. "Or to anybody else you want to... and Hinata can create messages as well."

Naruto's grin widened, if possible. "I gotta go tell her!"

As he turned to run out of the living room, Sam and Hinata walked in. "What's all the yelling about Naruto?" Sam asked, then added with a grin, "Did Ric burn supper?"

A brief look of alarm passed over Naruto's face at the thought of no dinner, then it was replaced with a smile. "Jack's got this really cool thingie, it..." He paused as he hunted for the right word. "...oh yeah, it records your voice, then plays it back... just like that big thing Janet-sensei has, only smaller." Naruto pointed at the device in Jack's hand, then his face turned thoughtful. Naruto turned to Jack and asked, "How is Baa-chan going to hear it? Doesn't she need one like it too?"

Daniel closed his book and replied, "Ric bought 2 of them, and extra tapes and batteries. He guessed that your friend... Gamakichi, could take the second recorder and everything needed to make it work for your Hokage."

Hinata spoke up. "How big a message can it hold?" Unlike Naruto, she firmly held on to her excitement. This could be the solution to her problem... getting a message to Hanabi.

Sam walked over to the coffee table and picked up one of the mini-cassettes. "This one will hold about 10 minutes of recording." She looked at Jack and asked, "How long will the batteries last?"

Jack looked at the recorder and frowned. "I'm not sure, I've never used one of these models before."

Sam gave Jack a sour look. "You didn't read the owner's manual, did you?"

Daniel spoke up, "Ric told me that the salesman said about 2 hours of use."

Sam muttered, "Thank goodness _somebody_ thinks ahead."

Ric appeared in the dining room doorway, wiping his hands with a dish towel. "And I'm not afraid to consult a map too." He chuckled at the pout on Jack's face. "By the way, dinner will be ready in about 20 or 30 minutes." Naruto's stomach growled loudly, on cue. Ric gave Naruto a look. "No chewing on the furniture, Naruto. You'll just have to wait."

Naruto gave Ric a hurt look and muttered, "I'm not Akamaru ya know."

A sly smile appeared on Ric's face, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt it you had a small snack before dinner." Naruto's face brightened. "Yes, a nice salad should fit the bill." Naruto's smile was replaced by a look of dismay. Ric's smile grew as he asked, "If Sam and Hinata-dono wouldn't mind assisting me, I've salads for everyone." Ric reached behind him and presented a large, full plate.

Sam smiled. "Is that a Cobb salad?" She started walking towards Ric with Hinata right behind her.

"The one and only." Ric replied.

Sam examined the contents of the plate as she got closer. "Won't that spoil our appetite for dinner?"

Ric grinned. "This one's for Naruto, everyone else's is a bit smaller." Ric looked at Hinata. "Do you think you can get Naruto to eat this?"

Hinata saw the chicken and bacon mixed in... and an unknown fruit-like vegetable. Hinata nodded. "I think so." She glanced back at Naruto... who was trying to edge sideways out of the living room. Hinata used _the_ voice on him. "Where do you think you're going... Naruto?" He froze in place. "Take one more step and there'll be no bacon for you."

Naruto got hopeful look on his face. "Bacon?"

Sam grinned. "Ooh, avocados." She snatched a piece from Naruto's plate and popped into her mouth. "Hmm... yummy." Jack appeared next to her and sampled a hunk of chicken.

Naruto protested weakly. "Hey, no stealing."

===April 12, 11:05 AM, FSB HQ, Moscow===

Traffic not withstanding, the trip to Generál Lebed's office was relatively uneventful. Once inside, Irina quickly made her way to her granduncle's office. Her first sight was a sightly frowning Mayór Zelynski, Generál Lebed's right hand, and gate-keeper. She breezily greeted him, "Dobroe utro, Kolya." She glanced about his spacious office. "Where's Dyadya Stanya?"

Zelynski let out a sigh of exasperation. "Starshiná Razin is busy with... something. '_And up to no good, probably._' And the _Generál_ is waiting for you." Zelynski raised an eyebrow and added, "And for someone who was sitting in a cell a few hours ago, you're being particularly cheeky, Kapitán Lebed."

She gave Zelynski broad smile and neatened her uniform. "I'm in a good mood... or shouldn't I be?"

Mayór Nikolai Timofeyevich Zelynski's frown deepened. "Given who you assaulted last night... you shouldn't be. That's the chief reason you're here now..."

Irina's eyes narrowed, her face took on a cold, fierce aspect. She growled back, "That _svóloch'?_ I could have done much worse to him."

"That may be so, but then the situation would _not_ be about your transfer." A new, stern voice entered the conversation. Both Irina and Nikolai turned and saw the Generál standing in the open doorway to his private office, his face equally stern.

Irina, sensing his mood, came to attention and saluted. "Kapitán Lebed reporting as ordered, Tovarishch Generál."

The elder Lebed shook his head and motioned with his hand. "Get in here, I would have words with you, Kapitán." Irina nodded to Zelynski and marched past her granduncle, and into his office. "See that I am _not_ disturbed, Nikolai Timofeyevich." He added, and shut the door. After a long moment of silence, Vasiliy Isayovich Lebed leaned against the door and sighed. "I really wish you wouldn't tease Kolya so, Irinya; and, show a bit respect to him... he _is_ your superior."

Irina gracefully turned about on the ball of her foot. "I know, it's just that he's such a... zanúda sometimes." She moved closer and embraced him, then exchanged the three kisses with her granduncle.

Vasiliy smiled sadly. "It's his job to be serious. To be otherwise in the FSB leads to a very short career." He reached up and gently pinched her nose. "I remember you being a very serious young woman, once upon a time." He added silently, '_Until you met him._'

Irina put a thoughtful face. "Yes, I suppose I was." The elder Lebed broke his embrace and sat down behind his desk; he tapped the documents before him. "And now I must send you away..." His face turned serious. "...for your own safety." He added a frown. "I would rather keep you where you are, for personal and professional reasons; but, the man you attacked last night..."

Irina's memory of the incident made her temper flare... she snarled in anger, "He treated me like a... podzabornica. He..."

The elder Lebed slapped his desk blotter. "Irinya!" The gesture silenced her. "I'm well aware of what he did. And, I'm not angry at you for being offended..." He softened his tone. "...it's just that you've done a dangerous thing." He motioned her to silence again. "You've accidentally put me in a _very_ awkward position. I hope you understand, and _appreciate_ what I had to do..." He patted the documents on his desk. "...to obtain this transfer for you." Irina saw the grave look on her granduncle's face and fell silent.

He motioned to a nearby chair. "Sit down, my child." His tone was gentle, and serious, as was his face; Irina did as bid and he continued. "The father of that... durák... is _very_ powerful, and has equally powerful friends." He added meaningfully, "_Very_ powerful friends." He paused to let that sink in. "The new Russia we find ourselves in is little different than the Russia of my younger days, despite the chush' they perpetually print in Pravda."

He leaned back in his chair and his voice grew somber. "If a crony of Stalin wanted you for his bed, or dead, it happened." Irina's face grew alarmed until her granduncle made a hand sign that the room was safe. He continued, "If you stay here, something _will_ happen to you, I am certain of it."

The elder Lebed rubbed his temples. "Trust me child, I truly don't want to send you away; I am old and selfish..." He motioned Irina to silence again. "But not foolish. I know what I must do, and if I must send you away, I choose to send you to him." He sighed and pointed at the documents laying on his blotter. "Sign these papers and go... and let me do what I can to insure that one day you'll be able to come back to me, in safety, and with no threat over your head."

Irina's heart chilled at what might come to pass. "I'm not afraid, Dedushka. I can..."

"Nyet." The elder Lebed's tone was final. "I know you have the strength, and the skill to face your foes in the open, but this battle will be fought a level far above you. The best way for you to aid me is to be beyond the reach of our foes. Knowing that you are safe is what I need, and wish for." He motioned for Irina to come to him. "Besides, I know what you truly wish for." He gave Irina a perceptive look.

Irina had no rebuttal to that point. Her hunger for Ric hadn't faded with time; if anything, his absence made it almost painful in nature.

"Just this once, allow me to be a selfish old man." He gave her a wistful smile. "Go to him and make beautiful babies for me to adore and spoil in my final days." He held up his pen. "That would make me happy, and content."

Irina felt a tear roll down her cheek as she took the pen from his hand.

===April 12, 8:15 PM, O'Donnell Lodge===

Jack leaned over to Sam and asked, "I want a copy of that picture."

Sam snickered in reply, "We'll talk about it later." She had snapped a series of photos as Teal'c had brought out the main item for dinner, a 10 pound standing rib roast. The look on Naruto's face had been priceless... a drooling smile combined with stunned disbelief. The latest shot by Sam showed Naruto contentedly gnawing on a large rib bone with a dreamy look on his face.

===Naruto's Mindscape===

Sitting cross-legged on the sealed cell floor in her hanyou form, the Kyuubi was rocking back and forth with a look of total bliss on her face. For the second night in a row, she had experienced via Naruto's senses, unique and wonderful meals.

And, the kindness, generosity, and warmth that she encountered through Naruto since his arrival to Earth had done more to mend and fade the bitter memories lurking within her than even the Kyuubi would care to admit...

The other presence within Naruto's seal had noted those changes, and had found equal comfort in Naruto's new-found happiness. And, like the Kyuubi, all the changes had done wonders towards easing her resentment, and sadness, with Naruto's other life.

===April 11, 7:30 PM, Konoha General Hospital, Jiraiya's Room===

He woke up late last night, and after figuring out where he was, then the day and time, rather than tell anyone, Jiraiya took stock of what he had done, and achieved, and decided that a small a reward for his effort was in order. His carefully cultivated public persona aside, Jiraiya wasn't given to ignoring his duty to Konoha. He considered his options, and the possibility that Tsu-chan might make an appearance and sniff him out. However, he did know the sleep jutsu Gaara had used during the invasion to release Shikaku, it'd be perfect for this situation.

===8:00 PM, Hallway to the ANBU Ward===

The nurse checked her clipboard, then walked up to the ANBU guarding the door. "I'm here to check on Jiraiya." She declared, then showed him her badge. She waited as he applied a minor chakra to the seal on the reverse side of her badge, then compared the picture to her face. The small knot in her stomach untied after he failed to detect the low-powered variant of the Henge she had created years ago, and allowed her to pass. She entered the room, shut the door and applied a special liquid to the door's hinges. It didn't seal the door shut, but it would briefly secure it just long enough for her to assume an air of innocence if a guard outside decided to enter without warning.

She set the clipboard on a chair and opened a few key buttons on the nurse's outfit she'd borrowed. She smiled to herself as she moved closer to Jiraiya's bed. '_You haven't lost your edge Suzume... and Jiraiya-kun won't mind that the hot little nurse I borrowed all this for, will be joining us for a night, in exchange for this favor._' It had been child's play, for her, to exploit the weaknesses of the nurse she had assumed the identity of. Her sole failed mission aside, one of Suzume's trademarks was infiltration without detection... when required.

To Konoha at large, the woman next to Jiraiya's bed, was the plain, unassuming kunoichi arts sensei at the KNA. In reality, she had been one of ANBU's top operatives in their Butterfly Department... until age, and her cover being blown during a mission to Kumo, had caught up to her. After her deactivation from ANBU and transfer to the KNA, Suzume Namida had painstakingly developed a very unflattering public persona to conceal her true self, and to protect her students. She had a long list of enemies and many of them would have used her students as bait to draw her out.

Even though she was no longer in the game, she found it impossible to quit her old habits... the thrill of danger and sex, still called to her like a drug. And, when compared to her younger peers, when she chose to set aside her frumpy and timid masquerade... like this very moment, she could easily be accounted as one of the most beautiful, and desirous women in Konoha. Suzume's select, and secretive list of casual lovers, close friends all, was _very_ small, but large enough to satisfy her cravings, and practice her considerable list of sexual skills.

And, while she regarded her KNA students as off-limits for her hunger, Suzume reaped a guilty pleasure at exposing wide-eyed kunoichi wannabes to hints at her level of skill as a lover... by teaching them beginner's skills to the art of seduction and love-making... and identifying potential talent for her former ANBU department.

Suzume gently touched Jiraiya's face as she took in his sleeping form. She didn't know why, or how he had come to be here, the only clue she had was the word, exhaustion, as noted on his chart. After several moments of close examination, she was finally reassured that Jiraiya-sama was free of any harm, or poison. Relieved at knowing at least that much, she listened carefully for any activity outside the room, then gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Earlier that afternoon, her special version of interrogation, done with skilled and probing fingers, had gained her nothing in the way of useful information. Suzume smiled at the memory of the nurse she had taken the identity of, writhing on the floor of her apartment, moaning and begging for release from an A-rank, sexual version of Taijutsu that only top Butterfly operatives knew. Suzume reminded herself to return and consummate the jutsu before the poor woman went mad with pleasure... she didn't need that bit of unfinished business possibly pointing a finger at her; she had put far too much effort into concealing her past.

Whatever had happened to him, only Shizune, the ANBU guards who brought him here, and perhaps the Hokage, knew. Since Jiraiya was unharmed, there was no point to pursuing the matter further; she felt sure that the truth would come to her eventually. With a soft sigh Suzume focused on her sleeping secret lover and smiled pevertedly. She had 30 minutes, 45 at the most before... she arrived.

===April 12, 6:12 AM, Hospital===

He'd laid in that bed for 3 days, hardly moving as far as anyone knew... but this morning he had a guest. In fact, she'd been in the chair by his bed since 8:50 last night. Had she been awake at that moment, she would have seen him begin to lightly thrash about, as if having a bad dream. However, if you could see what he was seeing, you'd know it wasn't a dream, it was a memory... but not his.

===Jiraiya's Mind===

It was late at night, that much he could tell... but, given the lack of light, and reference points, he didn't dare guess what time it was. And he wasn't sure why, but it didn't... feel like he was in Fire Country anymore. As to when... he couldn't tell, not yet. In the distance was what looked like a mountain, it's flattened top engulfed in multiple fires of immense proportions, and easily double the size of Konoha.

Despite being unconscious, Jiraiya _knew_ several things... this wasn't a dream, it was a memory, tinged with sadness. He was dead certain that the memory belonged to a woman. He was equally certain that the woman was not only far more powerful than he was... but that she was a Sage as well.

That image faded into a mist, and a new image took its place... he felt someone gently take her right hand. Then, through her eyes, she turned and looked at a tall, powerfully-built man with blue eyes, short blonde hair, wearing a yellow gi cut like Tsunade's. He also noted through her eyes he had a golden-handled sword strapped to his back.

Then the scene changed again... still viewing everything via the woman's eyes. It was still night, but he... actually she, was moving rapidly through a forest of giant trees... he _knew_ he was in Fire Country now. While Jiraiya couldn't look around... visions were funny that way... she brushed her long silvery, or perhaps it was white, hair from her face, allowing him to get a glimpse at the forest about her; then she briefly looked down at her light blue gi, and very impressive chest. While she was no Tsunade, she easily bested most of the women in Konoha.

Jiraiya sharpened his focused on the vision itself... this wasn't the time for peeping through someone else's eyes. There _had_ to be a reason why he was getting this vision, he was certain of that. Then he saw them, a long column... of at least a 1000 people, he estimated. Within their ranks was every type: men, women, children... and by the way they moved, there was shinobi inter-mingled with them. He couldn't make out any details though, they all appeared as shadowy figures; he couldn't even make out hair color. However, some of the hair styles were noticeable... and seemed _very_ familiar to him.

===7:05 AM, Real World===

Jiraiya's eyes suddenly snapped open; he was fully awake and alert. He was about to press the call button and alert the nurses he was awake when something caught his eye. He turned his head and a big, perverted smile crossed his face... Tsunade was sitting not more than an arm's length away, sound asleep. And, by divine chance he hoped, her light gray gi was open down to her black obi... and she wasn't wearing her bra, like when he had last visited her. "Thank you Kami-sama." He whispered.

Jiraiya glanced around, then listened closely for any of the normal danger signs... the coast was clear. He noted the time, and the rising sun; he noted the days marked off on a nearby calendar that someone had hung up. Jiraiya quietly sighed... he had been out a little longer than expected, but it wasn't that surprising, considering what he had done. He very carefully rolled on to his left side, facing her.

Jiraiya took a breath, silently let it out, then rubbing his fingertips over his thumb he slowly reached out with his right hand and grasped the far edge of her top... and ever so slowly, and carefully, pulled it out far enough to expose her left nipple to the light of day. He paused every 2 to 3 seconds, checking her face and body language.

He knew if she caught him, the odds were 100 to 1 against him leaving the room as a whole man. She'd warned him for decades that if he ever peeped on her, she'd demonstrate the full extent of her strength on his manhood.

He'd seen that strength twice in his life, both times when she lost her normal temper, as he called it. And with what he figured was about 75% of her full power, unleash a punch that would of sent the Kyuubi tumbling through half of Konoha.

Jiraiya's smile grew as he finally got a decent look at one of Tsunade's legendary nipples, something few men had seen. It took all his willpower not to giggle as he normally would have, he didn't want to... "O-o-o-oh shit." Jiraiya muttered, as he turned paled with fear. The reason... the hand wrapped around his arm.

"You better have a hand written pardon from Kami, or I'm gonna rip your arm off... and then I'm going to get mad." Tsunade declared in a dead serious voice.

"First let me say that's the most beautiful breast I've ever seen..." Jiraiya replied sincerely.

"Thank you, but that won't save your perverted old ass from the worst beating in history." Tsunade shot back.

Jiraiya's mind was racing, there had be something he could do... he'd been unconscious for 3 days... what did she expect from him? He _was_ the legendary super pervert after all. Jiraiya suddenly smiled as it came back to him, every single detail. He replied in his calmest voice, "I had a vision, a memory actually; and, if I'm right... it was from one of the 6 Sages."

As he uttered the final part of his reply, Tsunade's eyes, and hand holding Jiraiya's arm, popped open. "You what?" She asked, clearly stunned by his statement.

Jiraiya added, "I also heard her voice when I broke... those Seals on... it."

"You better not be lying about this to save your ass, things have happened in the last 3 days that you may be able to fill in some missing parts of... _if_ you aren't lying." Tsunade replied, hoping that he was speaking the truth.

Jiraiya pulled his arm back, sat up, and looked into her eyes. "I swear I'm not lying... my 'lil Treetop Princess."

Tsunade gasped in shock, he hadn't called her that since they were kids. He knew as well as she did what that meant to her... and if he ever tarnished those memories, she'd kill him with no warning or hesitation. She commanded, "Stand up."

Jiraiya sighed, nodded in reply and stood next to the bed.

Tsunade stood and faced him as well. Then with a long sigh, opened her gi, releasing her breasts, grabbed his face and pulled him down into a kiss on the lips, after 10 seconds she broke it long enough to whisper to him. "Go ahead, you have 50 seconds." The instant she finished, and before she could kiss him again, he was fondling her breasts... and she had to admit, expertly.

Exactly 50 seconds later she pushed him away. He fell backwards onto the bed with a big perverted smile on his face.

Then Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and said, "If you did that... you're either about to kill me... or something major has happened."

'_You have no idea Jiraiya-kun, I just hope I don't break your heart when you find out that mine is no longer up for grabs... and you can't have more than my body for more than one night, if you still want it. I had to give you something._' Tsunade thought sadly, concealing her emotions. "Several things have happened. I'll have you checked out then dismissed. Meet me, there, at... 8:00 for a full debriefing and an update."

Tsunade paused a moment and added, "Oh, and Jiraiya... don't you ever call me that in front of anyone. I only have a few precious memories left from my childhood, and that's one of them. It'd break my heart to have to kill you."

Jiraiya nodded. "Never... I had to make sure I had your attention, and you wouldn't hit me until I finished... you have my promise that I'll never tell anyone what you did... I know what your image means to you."

'Thanks..." Tsunade replied then smirked. "You old pervert."

"That's super pervert, you overdeveloped bitch." Jiraiya retorted with a matching smirk.

Tsunade laughed, tucked her breasts back into her top, adjusted it to normal and left to alert the staff.

Jiraiya sighed and laid down again. "I got lucky, I doubt she'll forgive me again... but it was worth it." He said, then wondered why she'd done that, it was over the top, even for her. Jiraiya shrugged, he'd find out eventually.

===April 12, 9:30 PM, O'Donnell Lodge===

Everyone had gathered in the entertainment room, one of the later additions to the original lodge, and one of its largest rooms. It boasted a billiards table, a pair of gaming tables (the larger one for cards, the smaller one for chess), an old-style pinball machine... that frustrated Naruto to no end. The portion of room that was his current focus of attention was a long leather couch, occupied by Jack, Naruto, Hinata, Sam, and Daniel. Teal'c was sitting in an old, over-sized leather chair that fit him quiet nicely; Jeri had chosen to sit Indian-style on the floor next to the couch.

Kneeling next to a low cabinet that housed a sound system, several types of media players, and large plasma TV atop it all, Ric looked at everyone. "So, what should we look at first?" He pointed to a small stack of DVDs and VHS tapes sitting on the floor.

Jack handed off a huge bowl of buttered popcorn to Naruto with a grin. "I'm interested in that one movie that Naruto got, it sounds like fun."

Sam replied, "I'd like to see Hinata's DVD... ladies first, after all."

Hinata spoke up. "Ano... I wouldn't mind seeing Naruto's first. I want to see if I can spot the secret Molly-san mentioned." Naruto stuffed a hand-full of popcorn in his mouth and nodded in agreement.

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Who's Molly?"

"She was the one that brought Ric-san his... briefcase." Hinata replied, then added, "She knows Taijutsu, I think." Naruto nodded in agreement and grabbed some more popcorn.

Ric turned on the DVD player and the TV, then glanced back at Hinata. "Is that so?" He put the disk in the player and added, "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, considering her older brother."

Sam frowned in thought. "I thought she was just an admin NCO?"

Ric chuckled and shook his head. "You obviously never met her older brother... that man ate, drank, and dreamed about Shaolin Kung-Fu. And he was quite serious about it... I suspect it rubbed off on her." He looked at Sam as he stood up and grabbed the remote. "Besides, just because her day job is shuffling paper doesn't mean she can't be a skilled fighter." He grinned and nodded at Hinata. "Sometimes big surprises come in small packages... especially since you're sitting next to 2 of 'em, Sam." Ric held up the remote. "So, are we all ready for some action?" Everyone nodded in reply.

===April 12, 12:10 PM, Leningradskoye Highway===

Irina smelted the flowers again; Razin had surprised her with them as was leaving FSB headquarters, giving her a fatherly kiss along with them. '_It's a pity they'll be confiscated at the gate, I'd love to take all the way to America._' She thought. She took in the landscape all around her, a part of her would miss Moscow, though she probably miss St. Petersburg more, that city had a special place in her heart. It was where she had met Ric... at a chaotic, noisy rave.

She smiled to herself as she recalled the moment. He had actually rebuffed her advances... that had sparked her curiosity. Then she responded by finding the table he was sitting at, already flanked by 2 women, both vying for his attention... and his vaguely flirting back. She even wondered if he preferred pretty boys instead... until she halted before him, and danced until she knew he had her undivided attention, not to mention the women flanking him. Then she knew she had ensnared him... there at the rave, and later at her apartment, with one of the duo that had been flirting with him, and later on with her; _that_ had been a night to remember.

She broke away from that pleasant memory and asked the driver, "How long till we get there?"

He glanced at the clock on the dash, then traffic before him and replied. "I would guess about 15 to 20 minutes... we be making the turnoff soon."

Irina nodded and smiled, "Good."

-x-

About twenty car-lengths behind Irina's sedan, holding it's place in traffic, was a black BMW 745Li sedan... it's twin brother another 100 meters behind it. In the lead sedan, Eriko looked over at Ryan. "What's problem with No. 1 GAZ?"

Ryan closed her cell and sighed. "They're stuck in traffic. Apparently some fool decided to charge through an intersection and got rammed by a bus for their trouble... they're trapped in the backup."

Eriko frowned; she wanted the medical vehicle close at hand... just in case. '_Time to improvise, and take a risk, if necessary._' "We proceed as planned, and do what we must."

===April 12, 12:10 PM, Rest Stop, MKAD Ring Road===

Umarov snatched up his buzzing mobile. "What news?" His right eyebrow twitched sporadically. After a few moment of listening, he snapped his cell shut... then reopened it again and made a call to his second-in-command.

Imad, his driver looked at his friend, flicking his eyes to the back seat... Najib shrugged in reply, it wasn't any big deal to him that the Shef was hitting the bingdu, he regarded Hasim as bright enough to handle matters, for the moment. Besides, he wouldn't mind a taste of meth himself, he regarded getting a bit juiced before a fight as a buff... as long as you didn't over-indulge.

Ghalib closed his cell and pointed. "She's heading for Sheremetyevo..." He cackled with glee. "Allah is with us! I guessed right." He lifted a blanket to check the AKM beneath it, again, then grinned. "Imad, poekhali!"

===April 12, 12:15 PM, Leningradskoye Highway===

Ten car-lengths behind Irina's sedan, Hasim spoke into his mobile, "Now."

Ahead, on the right shoulder a ZIL 130, moving at speed to merge back into traffic, suddenly accelerated and cut left, causing the other cars to swerve, or hit their brakes, and everybody involved to hit their horns and uttered obscene words... not that anyone could hear. The truck charged Irina's sedan.

Irina's driver swore loudly and tried to shift left... and rebounded off a Benz E500 in the next lane over, sending the sedan directly in the path of the charging truck... and receiving a glancing t-bone for its effort. Inside the sedan, Irina, without a seatbelt on, was flung towards the left side of the interior... her head striking the c-pillar. As the FSB driver fought to maintain control, the truck came back for a second go at it and nudged the sedan to the left... and obliquely into the highway's left-hand guard rail, totally buggering the left-front wheel.

Hasim's driver, seeing the cars in front of him begin to come to a halt and beginning to stack up, aggressively moved his car to the still-open right shoulder... closing the distance to Irina's sedan, and the truck.

Likewise, the driver in Eriko's BMW matched that maneuver and floored it, rocketing the Bimmer forward, closing the distance to vehicle in front of it.

As Irina's sedan ground to a halt, the truck alongside of it stopped as well... a moment later, the driver, popped his door and leaned out far enough to open up with an AKM, spraying the front windshield, and hood with 7.62mm bullets. Meanwhile, the Chechen hood riding shotgun exited with an RPK. As soon as he got to the rear of the truck, he began hosing down the stopped traffic... killing or wounding anyone who hadn't ducked down below their dashboards.

Seconds after the RPK's 75 round drum ran dry, Hasim's sedan cleared the tangled mess of stopped cars via the still open right shoulder, veered left and screeched to halt... followed seconds later by Eriko's BMW. The Bimmer driver executed a text-book half-bootlegger to kill its forward momentum. Hasim and his men barely had time to open their doors before Ryan, armed with an H&K G36K, fitted with a C-drum, and Novikov, coming out the shotgun door like-wise armed, began to engage them.

Both of them began to fire controlled bursts of 4 to 6 rounds; Novikov engaged the RPK man as he attempted to load a new drum. The man died where he stood, taking a half-dozen 5.56mm rounds to the chest. Novikov then switched his aim to the other sedan... only to find that Ryan had killed anyone who had attempted to exit the car, and was now standing by her open door, systematically riddling the car with the remaining rounds in her weapon for good measure.

Eriko, free to move unhindered, had exited the BMW and ran straight for Irina's sedan... a few meters away from the front of the truck, she leapt onto the hood of the truck with an ease that only Naruto and Hinata (or any Konoha nin for that matter) could comprehend. She pointed her Walther P99 squarely at the Chechen cowering by the truck's left front wheel-well... right where she knew he would be, double-tapping him the head as looked up at Eriko... his blood and brains painting the pavement behind him.

That bit of business done, Eriko jumped down and went to Irina's sedan and looked inside... the two men in the front were dead. Then she looked at the back seat and saw scattered flowers everywhere, and Irina laying motionless across it.

x

End of Chapter 10

x

**Author's Comments: **

I don't have reviewer replies, sorry, only some general comments. First, I want to apologize for the delay, as noted below by my Editor... I can honestly say both of us worked our butts off preparing various files and different parts of the chapter. it's about 50/50 I think... no, make that 60/40 with the bigger part to my, overworked Editor, without whom I couldn't do this, that's the absolute truth. Chapter 11 should be on time, approx 1 month from now, sooner if we can swing it... and some big stuff is coming, as I hope everyone is paying attention. Whatever you think is going to happen... no mater how accurate you are, will only be the tip of a very large iceberg.

x

Editor's Note: Yeah, it's all my fault... again, just ask Mike. Life sucks, school sucks (one more term to go... then out into the stink-butt economy, yea me). At any rate... this is another whopper of a chapter (that's my fault too). Enjoy it.

BTW... new readers! WOOHOO!

A few replies from me:

* uo-chou - here's some more teasers for ya.

* sterata - hopefully this chapter will buy more forgiveness.

* Chargone - That's cool. You may be waiting a while for this to get finished.


	11. Joining Together

Ninjagate

Joining Together

By: MikeJV37

xxx

Author's Note: Over the previous 2 chapters I noticed some people getting the wrong impression(s) about this fic. This is a serious AU fic, LOADED with multiple layers of plot, and back stories to give it depth. And the characters, especially the many OC's, are being presented with a sense of realism... which some of you seemed to have missed. If you're expecting a half-ass, every chapter full of action/lemons... go somewhere else. This fic is meant for the readers that want a quality STORY with characters you can care about. I'm not trying to be rude, but if what I just said went over your head, that you're now scratching in confusion... please go read another fic.

BTW: if you flame me, or the fic, even a little... I'll most likely ban you immediately and never give you a second thought. You will not change my mind or get me to change my fic... the only reaction you'll get from me, is you banned from all future contact with me and my fics.

xxx

===Saturday, April 12, 12:21 PM, Leningradskoye Highway===

Eriko shut out the hellish cacophony: wounded motorists, crying out in pain; the screams of frightened women and children; and the sounds, and smell of burning cars... several of them alight because of the now-dead Chechen RPK gunner's spraying of the halted cars. She focused all of her attention on the limo beside her, and motionless body of the woman she had been sent to evaluate... and if necessary, protect.

Eriko holstered her Walther and attempted to open the passenger door... it refused to move. She took a deep breath, reached down, and yanked the car door free, snapping its hinges and flung the door over her head... impaling it in Zil's hard cargo cover behind her. That obstacle gone, she entered the back, knelt beside Irina and gently checked her for a pulse... Eriko let out the breath she had been holding after confirming the woman was alive, then tapped one of the her throat mikes twice.

After hearing three clicks in her ear bud, Eriko gently turned the unconscious woman over, immediately noting, and gently examining the growing bruise on her temple. With sure, firm touches at key points on Irina's body, Eriko watched her limbs twitch, signaling an intact spinal cord.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Novikov come around the front of the truck, stepping over the dead man to join her. Without looking back, Eriko commented, "She's alive, no major broken bones, no spinal damage, but she has cranial trauma... extent unknown." Eriko pointed to Irina's feet and added, "Help me ease her out and put her in our car. I'm not going to let her out of my sight until I know she's safe."

As Novikov gripped Irina's legs just below the knees he replied, "Taking her to one of the safe houses could be... problematic. And we don't know the full extent of her injuries..."

As she grasped Irina's shoulders, Eriko shot back, "Balance that with the nature of her foe. Putting her in a Moscow hospital is as good as giving her to Federov... do you disagree?" Eriko gently pushed the unconscious woman, sliding her along the seat towards the opening.

Grigory pulled Irina and replied, "No. His reach is not to be underestimated, nor his influence into the Russian government." After another joint effort, he was able cradle Lebed in his arms and stand upright. "Generál Lebed has enemies who desire the power of Division 8... and everything it would give them access to." He began moving towards their vehicle.

Eriko immediately knew what he was referring to... and what it meant to the Clan. Grigory added, "Nyet. She cannot stay." He looked down at Irina Lebed and adjusted his grasp on her. Grigory gave Eriko a meaningful look. "Better she die now, than in his hands."

Eriko returned his look and replied, "That is not an option, I have a plan... take her to the car and see to her well-being.

"Da Printsessa, it shall be done." Novikov continued towards the BMW.

===April 9, 9:59 AM, Hokage Tower, Konoha===

Tsunade sat in her chair facing the window, arms crossed over her massive chest. Her expression was blank, but inside she was organizing and analyzing everything she'd read from the letters from Hinata, and the only person in the entire universe... formerly the world, that emotionally had her tied in knots... Naruto Uzumaki. Somehow, he'd managed to be both the best thing in her life, and a periodic reminder of her past sin... her abandonment of a pair of dear friend's only child... her godson... Naruto. Tsunade felt that familiar ache resurfacing, and quickly locked it away. Her eyes were drawn to the desk drawer where she kept a bottle... and refocused on the pile of photos in her lap. '_No, I won't go there... not now.'_

Tsunade sulked as she recalled the past few days, pouring over numerous dusty scrolls... to no avail. Nothing she had read had given her the slightest clue about the atypical chakra Hinata had discovered. She softly sighed when she heard her door close. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shizune assuming her regular spot on Tsunade's left... currently her right as she was facing away from her desk, signaling that her final guest had arrived. "Would someone do the honors." Tsunade asked calmly, then neatened the small pile of pictures on her lap.

A moment later Tsunade heard Kurenai's voice and the windows faded into stone walls, the room became dim and shaded, and finally a soft 'whoosh' filled her office. She turned to face her guests and nodded to Kurenai, who was in the left-most chair, then Kakashi Hatake, Shikaku Nara, and 2 women she knew of, but had never been in her office before, Ukemi Aburame and Hakumei Hyuuga. She should of summoned all the Clan Heads, and her top Jonin, but her instincts told her these were the people she needed.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Hakumei, you've been briefed on what you need to know to be here, and that Hinata and Naruto are on a special mission for me." Tsunade stated calmly, noting the very subtle signs in Hakumei's body language.

"Hai Tsunade-sama... while I'll admit that I'm relieved, and happy to learn Hinata is alive, but I'm puzzled as to how I can help you." Hakumei replied, her body language, to a shinobi, telegraphed unease.

Tsunade glanced at Shizune a moment, then opened a drawer in her desk, removed a file and tossed it to the far side of her desk near Hakumei. "Then you haven't been informed of our new medical technique yet." Tsunade replied with a small smile and gestured for her to look at it.

Hakumei's eyebrows went up at the mention of a new medical technique; after getting the go-ahead, she picked up the folder, opened it and began reading. Not 10 seconds later her eyebrows rose again, then scrunched together as her focus sharpened dramatically, her mind racing at the possibilities as she read on. After almost 2 minutes, she closed it and looked at Tsunade, her excitement plain for all to see. "Who created this? It's... brilliant, but it had to have been created by a Hyuuga." Hakumei asked excitedly.

Tsunade's smile grew wider. "Hinata... now do you see why you're here. Your task is to help us understand what Hinata saw... _and_ we know you can keep a secret."

Hakumei glanced at the others present and began to grasp the true scope of this meeting as she knew, basically, what the other attendees brought to the table. "I'm in, I'll do what I can to help." Then added silently. '_Hinata-chan, get stronger and come back alive... you have no idea of the effect losing you had on her._'

"Good. Shizune, pass 'em out." Tsunade said then waited a few moments. "Read these files then I want your insights, thoughts... anything that can help me with what they're doing to their new friends, but one of them in particular... the man called Ric."

"Hai." Shizune replied, retrieving several folders from a drawer in Tsunade's desk and handed each of them a copy. Inside was a 6 page summary on everything Naruto and Hinata had sent them... including a number of copied pictures, both official and candid. She also knew Ukemi, and especially Hakumei, were about to cross the point of no return as both opened their copy of some the most secret documents in Konoha.

For several minutes, silence reigned as everyone read, and pondered, the contents of the folders. Tsunade discreetly, but closely watched the reactions of her subordinates... more open than usual given the privacy of the situation. Puzzlement, surprise, small smiles at certain points and an occasional chuckle from Kakashi. The one exception was Shikaku, his face remained impassive as he read, but his occasional fidget as he sat, told Tsunade that something within the report had caught his interest.

After everyone had finished their reading, Ukemi broke the silence first. "I see now why you resorted to such a level of privacy Fuinjutsu... I tell you, without flattery, that I'm truly honored that you choose me to attend this meeting." She tapped the folder on her lap. "This is unbelievable news, and I see why my husband has kept this a close secret, even from me." She reopened her folder and leafed through the photographs again.

Hakumei spoke next. "Since I know Hinata-sama, I'll not regard this report as the ravings of a madwoman, but even so..." She waved her folder in front of her. "...this turns our understanding of chakra development on it's ear."

"I'm not sure I agree, Hakumei-san." Ukemi replied evenly. "They are not of _this_ world, and we don't even know if they're... like us." She held back using the word alien. The faces she had seen in her folder wouldn't have drawn a second glance on the streets of Konoha... except for some of the more handsome men, and that would have been for an entirely different reason.

Tsunade shrugged. "Who knows, both of you may be right... and we won't know for certain until such time as they visit us, and consent to being examined by our med-nins."

Ukemi wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. "Good point, there's no telling what we could discover in a private examination room."

Kurenai shook her head slowly. "That sounds like something Jiraiya-dono would dream up."

Kakashi chuckled and added, "I'm sure he'll be taking notes... somewhere nearby." Tsunade suppressed the urge to laugh, and kept her face in Hokage-mode until he added, "Not that he peeps on men, mind you." Even Tsunade's control slipped at that, but she did manage to keep her grin as small as possible.

Ukemi giggled, then assumed an Aburame face and tone of voice. "All that aside, the fact that they've successfully learned to mold chakra at such an advanced age does defy established fact... for us."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Yes, and then there's the other matter." Shikaku shifted in his chair but remained silent. Tsunade's experienced eyes noted his discomfort. '_He knows... something... but how? None of these people come from our world._'

Hakumei held up her hand. "Before we proceed to that, I have some questions, please." Tsunade nodded and motioned to proceed. "I realize this might be a repetition for some of you here, but could you tell me more about these... people."

Kurenai discerned the Hyuuga's mood and asked, "You're worried about Hinata-san, aren't you?" Hakumei nodded slowly in reply.

Tsunade took the photos from her lap and pushed them towards Hakumei, who eagerly snapped them up and began looking at them. "Without going into too much detail... I'll be happy to talk to you privately later, if you wish it." Hakumei nodded her agreement to the offer. Tsunade continued, "Let's just say that I've gotten a positive impression of them via my correspondence with Shogun; and, that Naruto has never written anything about them that might cast them in an unfavorable light."

Hakumei looked up from the photos. "Well, if these are any indication, she certainly looks happy." '_...for a change, thank Kami-sama_.' "But who are these people? They certainly don't look like shinobi."

Shikaku pointed at the folder in his lap and replied, "By our reckoning, they're not. They're considered members of their host's military forces, with two exceptions."

Ukemi, curious with what she had seen thus far, asked, "Is that the reason for their odd clothing? They seem to be dressed the same, but in different colors, and what's the meaning..." She held up a photo of Jack and Jeri. "...of all the... objects on their chests?"

Shikaku, happy for the potential change in subject, explained. "The different colors signify which portion of their military force they're in. The color blue denotes air forces..." Shikaku paused when he noted the looks of confusion... and disbelief, on Ukemi and Hakumei faces and elaborated further. "Their world, unlike ours, has developed devices and machines of extraordinary power, complexity, and have machines that fly. And, their knowledge of certain sciences vastly exceeds our own."

Shikaku fingered his goatee in thought and added, "To put it simply, we have chakra and jutsus; they have science, and machines... most of them quite mundane by our reckoning, others... quite deadly." He leaned over and tapped the photos. "They wear distinct tokens of rank since they have a two-tiered system of leadership ." He saw the look on Ukemi's face and replied, "Don't ask, it's a rather bothersome subject that I'm still studying... and debating on the merits of." Shikaku looked at Tsunade and made a request that caught her off guard. "Please show them what Hinata-san has managed to seal and send to us."

Tsunade froze as she considered Shikaku's sudden request. Using an empty storage scroll, Hinata had sent them, seemly without Shogun's knowledge, a fair number of books on disparate subjects. Despite her friendly relationship with SGC, certain shinobi habits, Hinata's love of books (fostered by Sam), and concern for Konoha fueled her actions.

Unknown to them, and unintentionally aiding her in her efforts, was Naruto's near-constant antics, fueled by boredom, and his new-found affection for pecan pie. While Naruto harried and distracted the SP's of Stargate Command, Hinata set about the task of acquiring books, with such ease, that it almost became child's play for her... a skilled kunoichi of Konoha.

After a long moment of internal debate, Tsunade unsealed a bottom drawer in her desk, and pulled out a simple, plain-looking storage scroll. After unrolling it, she deactivated the deadly security seal Jiraiya had created for her, then pushed enough chakra in the scroll to activate the first three storage seals.

After three soft 'pops' and a minor amount of smoke cleared, everyone saw three neat, tall stacks of Earth-style books of different sizes, colors, and thicknesses. Tsunade gave everyone a meaningful stare. "It goes without saying that no discussion of these items will take place outside this room, and likewise... looking at them outside the confines of this office will bring the most dire punishment possible. Understood?"

After everyone, save Shikaku, had acknowledged Tsunade's conditions, she rotated each stack so that they could read the titles on the spines. Exhaling softly, she said, "Go ahead, take a look." Except for Shikaku, who had read, or glanced through, most of them, everyone leaned forward in their chairs and looked over the titles.

Kurenai broke the silence first. "Kami's pink panties, this is... incredible." She looked at Tsunade. "Did Hinata-san do this on her own?" Her heart swelled with pride... the painfully shy and meek Genin she first laid eyes on had finally turned a major corner.

Tsunade grinned. "Yes. She included a note telling me that not even Naruto is aware of her actions, not that she didn't trust him to help, or keep silent. Hinata informed me that she wanted any blame, or punishment should she be caught, to fall solely on her."

Kakashi pulled out a book on dogs and began leafing through it. Without looking up, he said, "For reasoning out and executing this act alone, Hinata-san deserves a Chuunin vest." Kurenai, and the others, voiced their agreement with Kakashi's sentiment.

Tsunade extracted a book, one of her favorites... on anatomy and physiology. "I agree. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, both of them have earned a vest for what they've done for Konoha."

Ukemi eagerly grabbed a book on insects and began leafing through it, marveling at it's detailed information and colorful illustrations. "This is incredible." She looked up from the book. "And all of this is... common knowledge on their world?"

Shikaku answered for Tsunade. "This is only a minor sampling of what Hinata-san saw. In the note I read, Hinata stated that she was told that there are libraries on Earth that are easily half the size of Konoha." All present save for Tsunade and Shizune, looked openly astonished.

Hakumei stared at the biology book she was holding... then put it back in the stack she had gotten it from. "As much as I want to look at this, and many of the others like it, this is not the time and place." She stood up and bowed deeply to Tsunade. "Please consider making a secure room for these books, somewhere. This is too great a treasure to hide in a scroll."

Tsunade nodded in agreement and replied, "Trust me, I've given the matter a great deal of thought. But you're right; this is not the matter at hand." She put her own book back, reluctantly. "We need to get back to business."

Hakumei reopened her folder and held up a full-length color photo of Ric. "Before we discuss the matter of this man's chakra, can someone explain the assorted items he's displaying?"

Shikaku lit a cigarette, in spite of Kurenai's disapproving look and replied, "As to your question, the ribbons and badges on his chest denotes awards, skill ranking, and tokens of valor in combat. As you've undoubtedly noticed, most the people in the report are likewise marked."

Ukemi reopened her folder and went straight to the enclosed photos, again. She commented with a twisted smile, "From the look of it, he and the other man have been rather busy... the younger one has 14 years, the older man has 24 years of service." Ukemi read further, then frowned and added, "The younger one is the superior of the older one?"

Shikaku snickered and replied, "I warned you that their system of ranks was bothersome."

Ukemi shook her in wonder, then sighed. "Well, it must make sense to them... or they would have abandoned it long ago."

Kurenai's eyebrow shot up. "Still, that's more than most veteran Jonin... still on the active list."

Shikaku chuckled and replied, "As a general note, both of them are members of their Special Operations forces, and that all the others represent the best their military has to offer."

Hakumei held up a picture of Daniel. "Then who might this be?"

Tsunade replied, "Believe it or not, he's a scholar attached to the team Naruto and Hinata are a part of. His bio is quite impressive, and he has considerable experience with dealing with different, and... unusual cultures."

Hakumei's slender eyebrows shot up. "A _scholar_... in a military team?"

Shikaku chuckled and leaned forward in his chair. "I know how you feel, I had the same reaction when I learned of it." He waved his hand at the books on Tsunade's desk and added, "Actually, to my surprise, after reading Shogun's notes to the Hokage, and reading some these books... the culture of the people hosting our Genins apparently value knowledge, and learning, to a considerable degree."

Shikaku pulled out a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. "One of the chief reasons why these people are older than us is that many of them have attended schools, academies, conducted independent scholarship..." He sighed and lit his cigarette. "...and obtained various military skills, and yet more civilian-type skills training. Their organized education systems make our schools and such, look feeble in comparison." Shikaku shook his head tiredly. "Many of the military types in that folder could easily qualify as scholars on our world... just thinking about it is troublesome beyond words."

Kakashi's mask concealed his grin. '_I don't think I've ever heard Shikaku say that much in one go, ever._'

Ukemi held up a color, full-body portrait shot of Jeri and subtly grimaced. "This one reminds me of Daitaro-sensei from my Genin days on Team 8, except for the hair color."

Tsunade's expression changed slightly as she recalled that Jonin's name... and some of the stories she'd heard about him. '_That explains why Ukemi is so skilled... I'll have to find out who her teammates were._'

Hakumei remembered the veteran Jonin in question and commented, "Except he's much older, and still learned to mold chakra... even at that age. However, I did note that Hinata-sama thinks that his ability with Taijutsu, among other things, may be a factor as to why his chakra could be awakened."

After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Kurenai subtly glanced at Ukemi and Hakumei then replied, "While I admit I've never heard of anyone starting their training so... late, but to add to what Hinata wrote, these people seem to have a unique ability... they aren't limited to an early start like we are. They also seem to have a natural inclination towards Yin-Yang chakra based on the fact that they can learn Taijutsu, seriously or otherwise, at almost any age."

Kurenai added with an amused smile, "There's also a note from Naruto; he gave several examples of people from their world that markedly exceed the norm... there's one in particular he recently discovered and really likes... a Taijutsu Master of legendary skill named... Bruce Lee. Hinata stated that amongst the people listed, this man... Jeri, has chakra similar to mine and Might Guy's. This implies that he has a very powerful affinity for Yin and Yang chakra. But, given the fact that this is all second-hand information, there are parts of this I frankly don't understand. Perhaps Hakumei-san will have better insight on Hinata's notes. Otherwise, I'd have to meet him for a full examination."

"You're a Med nin?" Hakumei asked, slightly surprised.

"No, if I were, I'd qualify as mid D-Rank... I'm a field medic, at best. I know enough to keep someone alive, and set broken bones. I know a few herbal remedies for minor healing and curing some common poisons, but I never learned any medical jutsu." Kurenai replied, slightly embarrassed.

"That's easy to fix, come see me or Tsunade-sama; you easily have the chakra control necessary to be a competent med-nin." Hakumei offered affably.

Tsunade added, "I agree. I'd love to teach you more; we can always use more good med-nins."

Hakumei, still half-leafing through the photos that Tsunade had given her, raised an eyebrow and plucked out a photo. "This is interesting." She presented a picture of Hinata and Ric in the midst of a spar.

Kurenai leaned over and stared at it. "Wait... that's him. And he's dodging an attack of Hinata's?"

Kakashi focused on the picture as well. "Hmm... it looks like they're just playing around, if the looks on their faces is any indication." Silently, Kakashi appraised the photo's scene; he noted that the man... Ric, had leaned outward, and inward, at Hinata's Juuken strike in a seemly awkward stance, but had put himself, he guessed, within easy reach of her. '_He's in a perfect position; if he was holding a weapon..._'

He shook his head to clear away the scene he visualized... then noticed that Kurenai was looking at him out of the corner of her eye. '_Damn... I'll be hearing about this later._'

Hakumei turned the photo to look at it again, then frowned. '_If Hiashi, or that bastard Hachiuma saw Hinata like this..._' She suppressed a shudder. "No, you don't understand, Hyuuga's don't _play_ at fighting after the age of three... ever." Only Kurenai picked up on the unspoken aspect of Hakumei's comment, and did her best to control any emotions from surfacing on her face.

And Kurenai, like Kakashi, had imagined what might happen next, but had tempered her imagination with a surer knowledge of Hinata's potential quickness... even so, no one willingly closed with a Hyuuga, bare-handed. In their inter-team spars, both Kiba and Shino typically maintained a respectful distance from Hinata. Kiba used dynamic teamwork with Akamaru, and Shino kept his distance and relied on his insect allies to attack her. But neither of them fared well if Hinata, in a rare moment of aggressiveness, moved to close the distance to her opponent.

Shikaku, pondering the image he had briefly looked at, softly commented. "He _is _dodging her though, and with seeming ease." He dropped his cigarette to the floor and crushed it, an uncomfortable feeling gnawing at him... he had seen something like this before.

Both Tsunade and Ukemi noted the change in atmosphere... until Kakashi remarked on the photo. "Well, that settles one argument."

Hakumei arched an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

Kurenai could sense the grin under Kakashi's mask. "That Hyuuga's _are_ capable of smiling." Even Hakumei joined in the chorus of sniggers and chuckles.

Tsunade choked off a laugh and replied, "Now that we've solved that mystery, let's look at the rest of them."

Hakumei put the photos back on Tsunade's desk and reopened her folder. "Yes, let's." She went straight to the fifth page of the report. "Alright, this is the one observation by Hinata-sama that I can't support... not without seeing it with my own eyes."

Shikaku tented his fingers under his chin; he had a sinking feeling that he knew which item Hakumei would bring up. "And which one would that be?"

Hakumei looked at the report again before replying. "That she thinks that this man's chakra appears to be molding itself... not to mention the implications of that type of chakra trait."

Kakashi stiffened and started riffing through the report again. "Where does it say that? I don't recall that one."

Tsunade muttered. "Maybe I should have you and Kurenai sit further apart." Kurenai blushed lightly and busied herself with her own folder.

Kakashi ignored Tsunade's quip and looked over the report again. "Hmm... that does sound interesting. Someone with that trait could potentially activate jutsus without using hand seals." He thought about it for a moment and added, "Although I can't be sure of the upper limit, power-wise, that ability could go." Then he recalled Hinata's new technique and looked at Hakumei. "Although a Hyuuga might, if they were observing the process." Hakumei shifted in her chair when she realized everyone was looking at her.

Tsunade spoke first. "Could it be done?"

Hakumei shrugged in reply. "I suppose so, to a certain extent." She glanced at everyone and added, "I don't think it's any great secret that our clan generally doesn't rely on, or employ jutsus beyond those taught within the clan that are linked to the Gentle Fist. That doesn't mean we ignore the Elemental Jutsus, but the early clan leaders choose a different path... to focus on the Gentle Fist." Kakashi nodded to himself; he recalled Obito saying as much... years ago.

Hakumei leaned back in her chair and continued. "While we don't discount the possibilities, or the power of Nature Transformation jutsus... only those who test _very_ high for elemental affinity are considered candidates for additional training." She frowned and added, "The Elders consider anything that takes away from focusing on learning the Juuken as detrimental. So, while you could ask me, or any Hyuuga to observe this man's..." She tapped Ric's photo. "...unique ability, don't expect a qualified analysis of it from any Hyuuga." '_Except for... perhaps, the Grand Elder, Hanako-sama._'

Tsunade sighed and replied, "Pity. I am curious as to just how much that chakra..." She searched for the right word. "...anticipates his... intent." Once again, she noted Shikaku shift in his chair as busied himself with his copy the report.

Ukemi, with a thoughtful face, added, "Hmm... given the fact that she also wrote that she observed his chakra acting independently of him..." She looked at the report again. "...she wrote that it appeared to be scanning the room as he entered it..." Ukemi frowned in thought and added. "Is there a possibility that he's a jinchuur..."

Tsunade interrupted Ukemi's observation; the tone in her voice suddenly stern. "They don't have, nor know of such things." That comment got everyone's undivided attention, for many different reasons. "As a matter of fact, Hinata has commented to me in her scrolls that their host's culture regards the weaponizing of, let alone experimentation on humans as immoral, and expressly forbidden by their laws."

Kakashi stiffened with alarm. "What does that mean for Naruto? They won't..."

Tsunade silenced Kakashi with a wave of her hand. "Naruto is not in any immediate danger... at least not at the hands of his hosts. I cannot say anything further on the matter save this, I have some information from their... doctor. She witnessed an incident that occurred shortly after they arrived on their host's world; a note was given to me via Hinata from this woman." The contents of that note had cost Tsunade more than a little sleep. "I have yet to reply to her questions, but _something_ happened when Naruto went through that damned ring."

Tsunade sighed and added, "I have yet to put any direct questions to Naruto, but I've noted the absence of _any_ complaints about the Kyuubi in his scrolls to me." Her comments was met with open curiosity, and nervousness by everyone... but no one spoke up. She took a deep breath and softened her gaze at Kakashi. "I appreciate your concern for Naruto's well being, but consider this matter closed... for the moment. It will fall on me to consider all that I know, what I think I know, and _how_ to deal with our allies on this subject. Are we clear on this?"

Kakashi kept his reply simple. "As glass, Hokage-sama."

"Excellent." Tsunade let out a small smile and motioned to Kakashi. "Why don't you give us your take on the report's contents."

Kakashi gave the file and photos a final once over then closed his folder. "I've seen every major Bloodline-Limit in every significant Elemental Nation, and a few missing nin. I've seen every Element used in ways most nin can't imagine, and new Elements, like creating Ice, seen shinobi turn into water... and heard about others like, Steel, Lava... even Crystal."

Kakashi looked at his hands and added, "I've copied over 1000 jutsu since I got my Sharingan eye, many of them with the elements I just mentioned, but I've never tried to do most of them. I could give you a detailed report if I saw them in action... but what I can do is give my insights on Naruto's way of thinking and his comments on his new-found companions." He then paused, noting Tsunade's subtle reaction to his observations.

"No offense Tsunade, but I know Naruto better than anyone here... even you. While he has his faults, and unique quirks, his basic skills are sub-par for an academy student, and his knowledge base is even worse... some of which I'm willing to admit is my fault." Kakashi added solemnly and glanced at the floor a moment with his visible right eye.

After a long moment of silence, he continued. "As Tsunade can confirm, Naruto has some traits that, in his own way, make him a genius... which I'm ashamed to say I ignored. Naruto has an uncanny ability to detect what's best referred to as, hostile intent. He needs training on how to react to it, but I've seen Naruto sense attacks coming that most Jonin would miss. I don't know if it's related or not, but while most people see Naruto as being stupid, and oblivious to the obvious... they don't know what Tsunade and I know about Naruto." Kakashi concluded and saw Tsunade suppress a giggle.

"What's that?" Ukemi asked in her usual soft, passive voice. Hakumei leaned forward to see past Ukemi, she'd heard countless stories about Naruto from Hinata; however, there was still a lot about him still unknown to her, and she was honestly curious about him.

"Naruto has better instincts than almost anyone I've ever met in my life... especially in battle. If anyone had bothered to look past his very rough surface and trained him properly during his Academy days... I have no doubt whatsoever that he'd be a Jonin right now." Kakashi replied seriously.

Shikaku's eyes opened all the way; he leaned forward and looked at Kakashi almost in shock. "Would you care to explain that?"

Kakashi thought a few moments. "Tsunade, were the Chuunin Exams recorded?"

"Yes, when things calmed down after the Invasion, I had Shizune get the tapes of the matches. I mainly wanted to check on Naruto's skills... I was a little distracted during his battle with Kabuto." Tsunade answered, then mentally added. '_And I wanted to confirm what it said in his private file the old man left me._'

"Show Shikaku Naruto's matches." He turned to Shikaku. "When you watch them, analyze everything that happens... and keep your emotions out of it. Try looking at his matches like a game of shogi." Kakashi said.

Shikaku leaned back in his chair and pulled lightly on his goatee. "I'll give them a look later." '_After I consider the implications of this report_.'

Kurenai went through her folder again. "In spite of Naruto's... issues with writing, his comments and observations concerning his new teammates are quite useful."

Ukemi chuckled under her breath. "Indeed. His manner of expressing himself is quite unique, and amusing." Ukemi ignored the un-amused stare from Tsunade and continued on. "By all accounts, his new companions are silly, serious, highly intelligent and very educated... an interesting, and not quite typical... given the final item, combination."

Kurenai added her thoughts, "And to their credit, they seem quite intent on teaching Naruto and Hinata all manner of things. Naruto also hints that they'll be allowed to visit a nearby civilian settlement, something about going to a... mall, whatever that is."

Kakashi, looking downcast, added. "Naruto also mentioned, quite enthusiastically, that the one man, Jeri, would be teaching him his variety of Taijutsu. Apparently he had rather unflattering observations about Naruto's skill level." He added silently, '_Yet another failing coming back to haunt me_.'

Tsunade, easily sensing his mood, commented in an amused tone, "Perhaps he's found a second Might Guy."

Kurenai snorted. "Kami, I hope not. I'm not sure our world is ready for two men like Guy." Everyone laughed at that observation.

Shikaku tapped his report with a finger. "I'm even more curious about their one teammate, the one named Teal'c." Shikaku leafed through the report again. "Naruto called him a... Jaffa, and as best I can make out, he's from a warrior class _bred_ by another race called the... Goa'uld to be servitors and... hosts." Shikaku stared pointedly at Tsunade. "What has Shogun said about this? Frankly, it sounds very dangerous, for us."

Tsunade winced at Shikaku's directness. "I've been given details concerning that matter, but Shogun has stated that he'd rather brief me in person on that issue... and other such things. I suspect that's one of the reasons he's counseled me to keep any activities with our Stargate to a minimum, _and_ to keep a constant guard around it." She noted the look on Shikaku's face, in response to her answer, and decided to speak to him privately on that issue later on.

Tsunade sighed and looked at Ukemi and Hakumei. "And to preempt your requests, it's best that you wait before seeing everything. I still can't believe that I've kept it all a secret this long, I half expect Danzo to come strolling in... and demanding a tour of his own any day now."

Hakumei stirred in her chair. "That sounds more than ominous, concerning both items." The others nodded in agreement.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes it does, but Shogun has told me that their chief enemies are so intent on them via intrigue and combat, that our chance of encountering them is low."

Shikaku frowned. "But not zero. I take it that Shogun has promised full assistance if something... unfortunate happens, yes?"

Tsunade nodded, then opened a desk drawer and laid a thick sheath of documents in front of her. "This is an agreement for a full alliance, which includes military aid, material assistance, and advisers being posted here at Konoha."

Kakashi nodded in accord. "Well, that's good news, and it would explain the sudden arrival, and placement of those 2 men with Naruto and Hinata's team, and obvious difference in background." He pointed at his folder.

Ukemi nodded in agreement and briefly held up two photos. "Precisely. These two men were not part of Naruto and Hinata-sama's original team. The other man, who Naruto named Jack, supposedly knows them from past missions together. In fact... although Naruto's narrative is rather confusing, apparently this man has witnessed..." She waved Jack's photo first, then Ric's. "...the other doing unusual deeds in combat, but refused to offer specific details. Hinata-san sensed no lie in Jack's comment, and in response, the man named Ric declared that it was an issue of 'clan secrets'."

Shikaku felt his stomach roll for a brief moment. He glanced up from his folder at Tsunade. "Is Hinata-san certain about his background?"

Tsunade frowned in thought for several seconds. "Apparently it's a rather complicated issue; according to Hinata-kun, Ric is estranged from his Obasama's clan, and her."

Ukemi immediately perked up. "That sounds rather juicy, what's the issue?"

Tsunade gave Ukemi a sly smile. "If I understand the details correctly, it involves the refusal of a betrothal..." All of the women in the room leaned forward in their chairs. Kakashi and Shikaku discretely exchanged looks... and eye rolls. Tsunade continued on, "And... Hinata-kun has asked me to treat it as a personal matter... so, no gossip for you."

All the women, save Tsunade, groaned in unison... the men wisely chose to remain silent.

Ukemi, wearing an obvious pout, looked at the photo of Ric. "The other matter aside, there is something different about him, his eyes perhaps... granted, he's very easy to look at as men go, but there's a hardness in his eyes..." Ukemi nodded to herself. "This is a man who has killed before, and has felt Kami-sama's breath on his neck. And likewise with the other man... equally so."

Ukemi then held up the photo of Jeri. "He too has the look of a man who had the blood of his foes on him." She looked at Shikaku. "I know what you've said about the world they come from, but I know killers when I see them... and we have more than a few of them in Konoha. I suspect they'll fit in quite nicely here... if they're the ones being sent."

Tsunade, knowing Ukemi's background and her ANBU codename, The Whisper, scribbled a note to herself. '_If anybody could tell, she'd be the one. I'll need more details about them from Shogun, especially since it's obvious that Naruto looks up to them, particularly the fox-haired man._'

Hakumei glanced again at the photos in her folder. "Add to that Hinata-sama's observations that this man Ric was initially very... uncomfortable in the presence of Naruto..." She gave Tsunade a meaningful look. "...not to mention his collapse, and the reaction of his chakra after Naruto created several hundred Shadow Clones, which Hinata-sama witnessed with her Byakuugan."

Ukemi added, "And then there's the matter of his handling of shinobi weapons... in spite of his consistent denial of being a shinobi; and, Hinata-kun's suspicion that he knows... jutsus, of some sort. It's obvious to me that he's received some measure of training from his extended family, who just happen to be a shinobi clan on his world."

Kakashi spoke up. "That was an interesting, and informative read. I hate to admit it, but Naruto's rarely been able to afford top-shelf shinobi tools, and weapons. I even set up a special arrangement at Wolf Claw, but Naruto has never regarded shopping as a positive experience, so getting him into a proper shop almost qualifies as a B-rank mission." He thought back to his days in ANBU as Inu, and a member of the 'Keep an Eye on Naruto' squad and shook his head sadly. "Naruto almost always has had to make do with second-class weapons." '_And undeserved abuse from far too many people_.'

Kakashi pulled out and fingered a special order kunai made by Tenten's father. "Everybody here knows what it's like to pick up a strange weapon they haven't trained with, and use it effectively. The fact that this man was capable of a near-center hit with one of Naruto's kunai's says much about him. And on top of that, using a throwing technique only taught to experienced Chuunin, or _very_ talented Genin."

Hakumei nodded her head in agreement. "And, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this man..." She waved Ric's photo again. "...is a natural chakra sensor, and senses, at some level, what Naruto is." Hakumei stood up and began pacing. "I don't know what to say about Hinata-sama's observation that he was 'incomplete', and that she corrected the situation by connecting him to his... chakra. A chakra that supposedly acts of its own accord." She stopped pacing and looked at everyone. "From anyone but Hinata-sama, I would regard all this as the nonsensical ravings of an idiot."

Shikaku willed himself to remain still, his face impassive. '_This can't be possible, they're all dead... and gone._'

"Shikaku." Tsunade said, giving him the floor.

Shikaku looked down at the folder and flipped it open, re-reading several parts to gain himself some time before responding. Silently he reassured himself again, '_No, it can't be true, we were told that no one was spared... no one_.' He closed the folder and raised his head. "This amount of information requires further research, and I defer to Hakumei's judgment concerning issues involving observations using the Byakuugan."

Tsunade's eyebrows raised slightly, Shikaku's statement, and subtle body language told her something was bothering him, but he was hiding it very well. "Agreed... Ukemi, you're up."

Ukemi folded her glasses and put them in her pocket. "They're all quite unusual; and, they remind me of the Clans in Konoha and other Elemental Nations." Ukemi stated in a monotone voice, not her usual tone. "The blond, and red-haired woman, the tall man, and man in glasses are all quite remarkable considering their age and the short time they've been using their chakra. The large dark-skinned, and the copper-haired man appear to have uncommon breeding, and both may have partial Bloodline-Limits, or exceptional bloodlines like the Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans."

Ukemi paused a moment, noting everyone's reactions. '_I've also long noted the similarity of Naruto to the Fourth Hokage... but this is not the time, or place, to confront Tsunade about it since the Third's Law is still in place._' "My final comment concerns the man named Ric... his unusual chakra is either a newly evolved Bloodline... or a very old one. I will not say more until I have further information about him." Ukemi silently added, '_And check the Ancient Clan scroll hidden in our vault; a story Shibi-kun once told me about our Clan's history reminds me of this man, Ric._'

"Please keep me informed if you think of anything else worth noting. Your turn Hakumei." Tsunade replied, then nodded to the Hyuuga woman. Shizune's instincts had paid dividends; her examination of Jiraiya had considerably eased Tsunade's worries, and she was shaping into a potential ally within the Hyuuga Clan. Tsunade made a mental note to keep her in the loop, and to go to the hospital later to check on her dear friend.

Hakumei closed her folder and glanced about the room. "I'm not certain I can add anything further, barring a fuller briefing on the details of Hinata-sama's, and Naruto's situation... on a different planet. And, I'd like access to any information you think I need to know." Tsunade responded to the request with a nod, and a smile.

Hakumei laid her folder on Tsunade's desk and looked at the other attendees before continuing. Seeing an opportunity to inform the Hokage, and gain an ally, Hakumei steered the meeting in a new direction. She took a deep breath, and a chance. "I don't think it's any great secret that there's a certain level of tension between you Tsunade-sama, and Hiashi-sama. What you may not know... and I am putting myself at risk by telling you this, is that there are elements within the Council of Elders of our clan that are very unhappy with your... treatment of Hiashi."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of subject. "What of it? While I do respect and abide by the long-standing policy of a Hokage not meddling in clan affairs, I'm _not_ blind. There are issues involving Hinata-kun's... treatment at the hands of her father." She willed herself not to look at Kurenai... the source of her information concerning Hinata.

Still seated, Hakumei half-bowed to Tsunade. "I understand all that, and I sincerely appreciate your concern for Hinata-sama, but..." Hakumei lowered her voice, in spite of the privacy jutsu being in place. "...I urge caution on your part." She saw the look in Tsunade's eyes and raised her hands to forestall her legendary temper. "While Hiashi's control of the clan's day-to-day affairs is absolute, some of the Elders have his ear far more than they should."

Hakumei took a deep breath and put her life in Tsunade's hands. "Please exercise discretion in handling Hiashi in the future. He does have his pride, and you are unwittingly aiding those who want to further their influence over him."

Before Tsunade could say a word, Shikaku raised a hand to be recognized, and be heard... he added, "Please listen to me, Hokage-sama. As Kakashi-dono would say it, there _is_ an underneath the underneath here. I will say no more than this: Hiashi has changed, I _know_ it to be so. I grew up, and maintained a presence here in Konoha, whereas you have been absent until recently, so the changes are less obvious to you. I sincerely urge you to make peace with Hiashi, somehow, and take a different course in dealing with him in the future."

Shikaku leaned forward in his chair and met Tsunade's eyes. "While it is troublesome beyond words, restoring some of the dignity you took from him at that meeting awhile back will help in your dealings with him, and the Hyuuga Clan. Treating him with respect he is due as a clan head may help deflect any whispers that reach his ears. I don't care how you do it, but renew his respect, and standing amongst the Clan Heads."

Tsunade sat silent for a long moment. What she had hoped for, and achieved to a certain point, was a productive meeting with some answers arising from it. What she hadn't expected was a nebulous warning from a member of Konoha's most prominent clan, not to mention as many new questions as solid answers obtained. Least of all to be half-advised, half-scolded by Shikaku... a man known for his incredible intellect, sound judgment, and few words.

Breathing quietly, but deeply, Tsunade let the skilled kunoichi within, tame and subdue her fiery aspect... the source of her strength, will, and her legendary temper. As she processed what had just happened, Tsunade swiftly grasped the importance of Hakumei's oblique warning... that all was not well within a key clan of Konoha. While it didn't sound like the second coming of Fugaku, which was more than fine with her, it did hint that there was something seriously amiss in the Hyuuga Clan. And as to Shikaku's words... it was one part advice, and one part warning; and, in it's own way, more foreboding.

Choosing the simplest route, she replied. "Thank you for your honest thoughts, views, and advice. Shikaku, remain in your chair please. Hakumei-san, please wait outside..." She turned to Shizune and ordered, "Put her in a private room until I call for her." Then continued on, "I wish further words with you, if I may."

Hakumei swallowed quietly and nodded in agreement. "Hai, Hokage-sama... but make it brief if possible, I don't wish to be observed staying within the Hokage Complex too long."

Tsunade immediately grasped her intent, and the potential risks for her. "Understood." She stood up and nodded to Kurenai, who immediately released the security jutsu. "I'll get word to you all, as needed."

Shortly after everyone had left her office, Tsunade activated a lesser, but still potent security jutsu and sat down. She politely motioned to Shikaku, "Go ahead and have a smoke if you wish, I suspect you want one... badly."

After a nod of thanks, and lighting a butt, he gave Tsunade a wry look. "I don't know what you mean, Tsunade-sama."

"Bullshit." She shot back. "I watched you during the meeting. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect Shibi pranked you by dropping some of his bugs in your shorts... but I'll let that be for the moment." She reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a bottle, and two cups. "So what's up with the Hyuuga's?" She poured some sake into each cup and passed one over to Shikaku.

Shikaku's initial response was a shrug... and after a long moment of thoughtful silence, he replied, "I would think my earlier comment would have been more than enough." At that, he picked up his cup and took a sip.

Tsunade replied, "It was informative, to be sure... but a bit lacking in details." Tsunade knocked her cup back in one go.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. "As well it should be." He motioned for Tsunade to calm down as her face started to telegraph her temper. "You know how the game works here... or you should. The clans here in Konoha may watch each other, but we _don't_ spy on one another, that's what ANBU is for... now, after the Uchiha's crossed the line." He inserted a meaningful pause. "And what the ANBU does is _your_ business, and your responsibility."

Tsunade sighed and nodded. "True enough."

Shikaku finished his cup and stood up. "Just smooth the path between you and Hiashi, and treat him as befits his status." A flash of insight struck him, evoking a sly smile. '_Perhaps I'm hoping for the wrong outcome._' "Who knows, perhaps something will happen that will preoccupy the Hyuuga's attention... among other things." At that, Shikaku bowed, dispelled the jutsu and walked out... feeling much better than he did a few minutes earlier.

After the door shut, Tsunade took another drink, straight from the bottle. '_Why do I not feel better about the smile that just flashed across his face?_'

===Saturday, April 12, 12:55 PM, FSB HQ, Moscow===

He picked up the ringing phone. "Division 8, Generál Lebed's office, Mayór Zelynski speaking." Less than 30 seconds later, he replied, "Confirm it. Has OMON been dispatched?" Twelve seconds later, "Keep me updated, let me know the moment you have any solid news. I... _he_ won't want rumors."

After he hung up the phone, Zelynski rotated his chair to face the black-painted door, his knees trembling. '_What will I tell him?_' He reconsidered the news that he'd gotten from his Militsiya contact. '_What can I tell him?_' Zelynski took a deep breath and stood up, straightening his uniform before walking towards his boss' door.

===April 9, 12:30 PM, Aburame Estate===

Like all the other major clans, the Aburame's had a vault for their special items, but that was the extent of what was known outside the clan. Its precise location was only known to, and accessible by, the Royal Family, of which Ukemi was the Queen. At the moment she was about 200 yards underground, in a specially created nest.

Ukemi stepped into the main chamber where 2 huge beetles turned slightly, facing her. She opened and dropped her coat, revealing her nude body, then held out her hands, palms up. A small beetle crawled out of each palm, her skin healing instantly behind her familiar's exit, each one flew across the room to a beetle guard. A few moments later her tiny messengers returned as the giant beetles relaxed again. Assured that the vault's protectors were at ease, she picked up her coat, slipped it back on and bowed to each guardian.

Ukemi crossed the room, stopping in front of the far wall, then flashed through a series of hand seals. The sequence complete, she placed her right hand on the wall as she made a series of clicking sounds... a moment later the wall opened, revealing a short hallway. Beyond that and down a staircase-like ramp, Ukemi went down another 20 yards below ground level, then to a 30, by 40, by 20 foot high darkened room and came to a halt.

This time, Ukemi made a shorter sequence of hand seals... causing the room to fill with a pale green light. Given that this was only the second time she stood in this room, Ukemi took the time to look at the mural encompassing all 4 walls, and the ceiling... chronicling the beginnings, and history of the Aburame Clan to the current day. That done, she bowed and crossed to the far end... to a low and long, seamless, black stone block, set against the wall. She bit her right index finger and drew the Aburame Clan symbol with her blood in the center of the smooth top of the block.

Then Ukemi made a new series of clicking sounds and a moment later the blood was absorbed into the stone, causing it to split down the middle and slide open, revealing a 4' long, 1' wide scroll. She lifted it out and the lid closed, securing the other items within. With a great deal of respect, Ukemi laid it on the stone casket, unrolled a few feet of it and began her research.

===April 12, 1:35 PM, 200+ miles West of Moscow===

Eriko looked down at passing landscape... it really was quite beautiful, so peaceful looking, and so at odds with the day's events. She frowned at her own reflection in the window... she had told herself that it couldn't be helped, invoking her diplomatic passport to get her jet off the ground... but it still counted as a tell. Eriko prided herself on carrying out traceless missions, this was turning into anything but that.

Eriko looked away from the window as she sensed Min coming from the aft compartment, seconds later the older of her two companions pushed the curtain aside... a attractive, slender young Asian woman with bobbed reddish-brown hair and gray eyes, dressed in a generic, dark flight attendant's outfit, carrying a covered tray. She gave Min a smile and preemptively announced, "I'm not hungry, Min-chan."

"I made one of your favorites, Eriko-oneesama." Min replied with a smile and uncovered the tray, revealing a _very_ large pastrami and swiss on dark rye bread... complete with a large garlic dill pickle. Min picked up the pickle and added, "With wasabi mayonnaise."

Eriko sighed in surrender and replied. "How's our guest?" She reached for the napkin and laid it on her lap.

Min took a tiny bite of her pickle. "Uschi-chan checked her out. She has a mild concussion, a sizable bruise and some swelling." Min glanced aft and added, "She also gave our guest a mild sedative... just in case. I talked to the pilot, we'll be in Berlin in about two and a half hours."

Eriko spoke past her mouthful of pastrami. "That's good."

Min knelt beside Eriko and gave a searching look. "You're not angry, are you?"

Eriko put down her sandwich and frowned. "Of course not, but I am upset... the mission..." she fell silent.

Min smiled gently and patted Eriko's hand. "No mission is perfect, you know that." Min cocked her head in thought. "You're upset because of her and don't deny it, I've been by your side for 10 years now, and Ursula too."

Eriko shifted her gaze to the jet's window. "That can't be helped. She has his heart... I don't." Eriko felt a tear run down cheek. "He's forgotten about me... and he has her."

Min reached up and wiped away the tear. "You underestimate yourself, and him. All these years Ursula and I have stood beside you... how many times have you told the tale of how you first met Ric-sama? And then you would relate to us the stories that Mae-sama would tell you... and we would always listen, and see the look in your eyes as you spoke of him." She watched Eriko turn further towards the window... but Min could see Eriko's sadness reflected in the glass. "In all those years, your thoughts, and your heart have never wavered... not once." Min gently squeezed Eriko's hand. "That woman has only know him for what... a year? And you measure yourself against that?"

"She's had him... unlike me." Eriko grumped and turned to face Min. "That's the difference."

Min snorted humorously. "What of it? Can you blame her?" Min squeezed Eriko's leg. "You know him better than she ever could... both Uschi and I would jump at the chance. I'd even be content with just preparing him for you." Min suggestively inserted the pickle into her mouth then pulled it out with a 'pop'. "All you need is for Ric-sama to see you... you _are_ one of the most beautiful women in our clan. And he's not forgotten you, I refuse to believe that."

Eriko frowned and toyed with her sandwich. "He remembers a 6 year-old girl, a cry-baby who wasn't strong enough to see him off with a smile."

Min chuckled and replied, "Then it's even more important that when the time comes, you greet him with a smile. Your feelings towards him will reach his heart. Besides, we all know what he is... one woman might capture his affection, but he will always seek, and embrace strength. Show him that you're worthy of his attention... and more importantly..." Min flicked her eyes aft. "...show her that you're willing to be _one_ of his consorts... as should she. That's the reality she has yet to understand, and face."

Min stood up and smiled. "And if honesty fails... try seduction." Min's tongue flicked the end of her pickle for emphasis and grinned, "It worked on me... and Uschi, if I recall correctly."

===April 12, 3:00 PM, Federov Estate, 25 km NE of Moscow===

Maxim Federov laid a gold-plated Luger before him and smiled coldly. "Now Herr Fink, explain why I do not have what I asked for... despite your promises, and the money I've expended thus far."

Fink gathered himself and fingered the folder under his arm... the trump that he hoped would buy off his certain death, the usual punishment for failing more than once. "The operation was up to my source; and, based on what I've learned, he _almost_ pulled it off. In fact, she was all but in his hands and then... a third party appeared and carried her off."

Federov leaned back in his chair. "Do you expect me to believe this... nonsense?"

Fink swallowed and laid a folder on his desk. "This is a copy of the incident report. Publicly, OMON is taking credit for thwarting a terrorist attack." Fink pointed at the folder. "Privately, they are in a panic. An important FSB officer has disappeared; there has been no ransom demand; no video trumpeting her capture, or documenting her rape; nor any discovery of a body. Eye-witnesses described a small group of well-armed, and equally well-trained people, killing all of Umarov's men; and, by their accounts, carried off Irina Lebed." Fink pointed again to the report. "Lebed's bodyguards were both killed after her car successfully stopped. Umarov's people did their job. However, they were thwarted at the final moment."

Mildly curious, Federov grabbed the folder and opened it... the photos atop the report did support Fink's story. He looked at each one carefully, then he got to the last ones, his eyebrows shot up. Federov stabbed a picture with a finger, his voice and face incredulous, "This is not a trick?"

Fink knew which one he was referring to... he still had trouble believing it himself. Fink prayed that it would divert Federov's wrath away from him. He replied in a tired voice, "No Gospodin Federov, it is _not_. That is the door of a ZIL 114 limo sticking out that truck... it was ripped off it's hinges, there is a photo of..."

Federov found the photo; he whispered, "Bozhe moi." He went back to the documents and checked them again... they were not forgeries whistled up by Fink to save himself, the stamps and embossed marks were genuine. He looked up at Fink. "Any ideas about who they were?"

Fink sighed and shook his head. "No... other than their weapons used NATO ammo, which I regard as a trivial fact. And if I _had_ known about them, they would have been accounted for in my plans." Fink snorted and added, "In fact, if I had known about them, I would have tried to hire _them_ to grab her."

Federov cocked his head and asked, "Not CIA?"

Fink snorted derisively. "The Americans should be that good."

"What about the man you entrusted with this task?" Federov asked.

Fink replied blandly, "I have informed the right people where he can be found. He is a dead man."

Federov nodded with satisfaction and sat quietly for several moments, then looked up. "Contact everyone on my Red List. Tell them I want every international airport in the EU watched, and distribute her photo. Tell them all that I will offer a _special_ reward for her... they will understand what I mean. Also tell the appropriate people on my Gold List to keep an eye on Generál Lebed, mention the same reward." Federov closed the folder and locked it in his desk. He locked eyes with Fink. "Did you learn where she is being sent?" Fink shook his head slowly in reply. "Find out. I want her." He waved his hand dismissively. "Get to work."

Fink silently breathed a quiet sigh of relief, bowed, and quickly departed... his mind already addressing this new puzzle.

===April 9, 4:57 PM, Nara Estate===

He'd struggled all day, taxing his mind to find some reason, some logical explanation for what he'd learned in the meeting this morning in Tsunade's office. He knew Kurenai; Kakashi was a close friend and poker/drinking buddy; he'd met Ukemi a few times through Shibi... and was among the few that knew about her ANBU career; and Hakumei, she seemed to be trustworthy enough... and her warning to Tsunade about the goings-on within her clan had been timely, and more than adequate... he hoped.

He'd watched Hiashi's change in demeanor over the years, but hadn't ascribed to much to it. The death of his wife had hit him very hard... it was understandable, at the time. But that was then, now was another matter... something was happening within the Hyuuga Clan.

He put those thoughts aside and refocused on an impossibility, that some of... _them_ had actually survived. That thought evoked a grim chuckle, if everything he knew was wrong... then the Hyuugas were in for a big surprise, and not of the pleasant variety.

And, he didn't doubt Hakumei's observations concerning Hinata; he'd recalled a memory of her escorting a young Hinata in a park, he had been there with Yoshino and an equally young Shikamaru... the smiles and affection between them was open for all to see. Shikaku frowned as recalled the memory again, that was the year that Hinata's mother died birthing her sister Hanabi... he couldn't recall seeing Hinata smile after that sad day, until he saw the newest photos of her at the meeting.

But in the end, he'd failed to reason away his unease at the things he had read in the folder, so here he was, 10 stories below the Nara Estate, in front of the vault door. Unlike other doors, this one had no lock, handle, or any apparent way to open it. The only feature on it was a horizontal row of 8, 4" amber globes embedded in it, each one a foot apart. Shikaku sighed as he stared at the door, beyond it were many important things... and the Nara clan's darkest secret. Shikaku steeled himself and began a long series of hand seals.

When he finished he held the final seal, with the name of the jutsu unspoken, 8 shadow arms extended forward and outward, then up the door, each directly under a globe. Each shadow grabbed a particular globe at the same time; a moment later the globes lit up in a certain sequence. A few seconds after the final globe lit, the door silently opened about a foot inward.

Shikaku canceled the jutsu, then opened the door just enough to enter the vault and close it shut. Inside the large room were the usual floor-to-ceiling shelves of scrolls, and various Clan artifacts along the side walls. Several tables were set up around the room, but he walked directly to the back wall, then made and held a special hand seal as he began speaking in a dialect of ancient Japanese forgotten long ago by the rest of the world. After 5 minutes and 30 different seals later, he stopped and touched the wall with his right hand. A large seal appeared for a moment, then the wall opened revealing a 4' long scroll resting in a carved stone rack.

Shikaku removed the scroll, went to the nearest table, unrolled over 6' of it and began reading.

===Saturday, April 12, 4:15 PM FSB HQ, Moscow===

Zelynski looked up from his copy of the report detailing the... disappearance of Irina as Razin came in carrying a large bag of Chinese take-out.

As Lebed's bodyguard set down their dinner, he frowned at the Generál's door and asked, "Has he come out yet?" The concern in Razin's voice and eyes, was painfully obvious.

"No. Not since he came back from the incident site." Zelynski looked over his shoulder and grimaced. "Considering the look on his face when he came through that door..." Zelynski nodded at the door Razin had just come through. "...I've steered clear of him since then."

Razin glanced at the report on the Majór's desk. "So, did they catch anybody yet?" He handed over a large chicken fried rice. He cheerfully offered, "If so, I could get them to talk."

Zelynski shuddered at the thought... the old Cossack was very good with the large dagger he kept close at hand, and had never kept his fatherly affection for Irina a secret... woe betide the man who harmed her, or even threatened to. He glanced at the door again. "Do you think you could get him eat something?"

Razin shrugged and set aside a covered tray of Mongolian beef. "I did bring his favorite, but I think I did the old man a better favor by hiding his vodka." Razin raised an eyebrow and pointed. "That's interesting... the light for his private line just lit up."

===Generál Lebed's Private Office, a few moments earlier===

The elder Lebed was busy wearing a path in the carpet, thinking, and rethinking what he had seen with his own eyes... it was a not-so-pretty puzzle. The limo he had sent Irina off in, riddled with bullets holes; the bodies of the two FSB men assigned to escort her; the empty rear seat... completely free of blood stains. The only evidence that she had been there were the scattered flowers that Razin had presented her as she left his office... he had put one in his pocket with a vow to find her... or avenge her.

The men who had ambushed them, dead... gunned down by someone very skilled with the non-Russian weapons they had used... the empty shell casings, obviously a NATO caliber. And the rear door of FSB limo sticking out of the truck that 2 of the ambushers had used to stop it. He shook his head, '_Chechen filth and mysterious saviors... I hope._'

He froze as his private phone rang... only a select few knew that number, even less used it without having something very important to say to him. Lebed doubted that it was Hammond... more often than not, it was he calling the commander of SGC, not the other way around. He held his breath as he reached for it...

"Speak." Tension, and the day's events threw his usual greeting, and manners, out the window.

"_Good afternoon, Generál Lebed._" Answered a young woman's voice, speaking fluent Russian.

"Who is this... and how did you obtain this number?" The strain of day showed in his voice.

"_That... would be telling... and unimportant. What is important is that Kapitán Lebed is very much alive, and safe, with me._" The voice remained irritatingly light and pleasant.

Vasiliy Isayovich Lebed's nerves, and voice reaching their breaking point. "What is it that you want!" He drew a ragged breath. "What do you want from me!" At that moment, he was feeling every bit his age...

After a moment of silence, the voice replied, "_To come and get her... and for her to continue her journey._" Lebed slumped into a close-by chair. In spite of his agitation, he sensed a trace of sadness in the woman's voice.

While there had been a teasing mien in her voice, there wasn't a trace of anger, or malice. "I don't understand." A faint sense of hope grew within him... perhaps Irina _was_ out of danger.

The voice gently sighed. "_There's no need to understand... or to thank me._" Then there was a heavier sigh. "_Were it not for Federov, I would have simply dropped her at your doorstep and be done with it._"

Finally grasping the reality that Irinya was safe, Lebed's professional demeanor made a quick comeback. "How do you know of Federov? And why would you care?"

Those questions led to a long moment of silence. Before he had decided that the voice had hung up, she replied, "_Those answers would be too great a clue for you... I respect you enough not to treat you lightly._"

With the day's tension, and worry cast aside, for the first time since he had gotten the news of the incident... he smiled. "And you truly wish nothing in return for this good deed?"

After a long pause, for the first time, the voice turned stern, and serious. "_For you to survive the darkness you will be facing... you did the right thing to send her away._"

Lebed considered the voice's oblique warning and nodded to himself. "I see."

"_I hope so._" Was the whispered reply... then a sigh. "_I will give you an address. Send someone you trust without question, or hesitation, to protect and accompany her. I take it you have someone like that on hand?_"

Lebed looked at the door to Zelynski's office and smiled. "Yes, I do."

After a long pause, the voice replied. "_Good. Now then, as a precaution, I will give instructions on how to get to her... it would be better for you not to trust anyone within the FSB to arrange the trip. Your foe has friends all about you, and in Berlin. You will have to trust me if you wish to recover Irina Lebed._" The voice anticipated his concern. "_She is safe where I have her now, but that ends the moment she leaves Berlin... I have already done more than I should, or allowed to do._"

The elder Lebed moved to his desk, grabbed a piece of paper and picked up a pen. "I understand, and appreciate it more than I can say. I owe you a favor... and not a small one." He posed his pen to begin writing. "Give me the instructions, please."

===April 10, 8:03 PM, Haruno House===

Ino knocked on the door and waited. It'd been longer than she cared to admit since she'd been here... and while getting completely back into Sakura's life was part of why she was there, it wasn't the main reason. Ino just hoped it didn't cost her the bond she finally restored with her childhood friend.

As the front door opened, Ino greeted the opener with a friendly smile.

"Ino-san, what a pleasant surprise... are you here to see Sakura?" Hitomi asked, masking her excitement.

Ino replied with a smile and giggle, "Hai, Hitomi-chan, I've put this off long enough. I miss my favorite flower."

Hitomi stepped back and moved to one side, motioning Ino to enter. She called out, "Sakura-sama, you have a guest."

"Ino-pig!" Sakura exclaimed from the hallway a few moments later. Then they launched into their traditional exchange... stepping closer to each other as they traded words.

"Forehead!"

"Diva!"

"Bookworm!"

"Slut!" Sakura replied, holding out her hands in greeting.

"A-cup wanna-be!" Ino retorted as Sakura stopped in front of her.

"MAN-STEALING BITCH!" Ino and Sakura exclaimed together, then hugged as they broke out laughing.

Almost a minute later Hitomi saw Sakari appear at the mouth of the hallway where Sakura had come from, smirking at the lively pair, then shook her head and walked away, obviously laughing to herself. Hitomi smiled, glad to see Sakura happy, and with her friend again, but the best part was that Sakura and Sakari had finally settled their long-standing dispute.

Sakari had repeatedly tried to get her daughter to quit being a kunoichi, but to her amazement, Sakura had stood up to her, and with no fear, said she'd finally found herself, and her mind, being pushed to its fullest potential. She wouldn't say what she was doing, only that her new job was very important and that she loved it... for Sakari, and to her credit, that was all she needed to hear.

After they calmed down, Hitomi watched Sakura and Ino disappear upstairs.

===Sakura's Bedroom===

As Ino looked at Sakura, her smile vanished. "Does your room have a seal like mine?" Ino asked.

Sakura gently bit her bottom lip, she didn't like the direction this visit might be taking, and hoped she was wrong about why Ino was here. "I'm not in a Clan like you, I..."

"Sakura..." Ino interrupted. "...don't play dumb with me. You know about the request rule, you're a kunoichi now, you can have them placed in your house. Did you do it?"

Sakura sighed and nodded. "Hai, in my bedroom and a few other rooms." Sakura replied, then activated a seal on the wall by the door. A moment later there was a quiet 'whoosh'. Sakura then went to her bed and sat on the side; she gave Ino a guarded smile.

Ino leaned against Sakura's writing desk and sighed, "I think you know why I'm here... and you're mostly right. Still, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've paid you a proper visit, and I know we haven't hung out like we used to... but I'm mainly here..." Ino moved away from the desk. "...to ask you, flat out, what do you know about Naruto and Hinata. Please don't bother trying to lie to me Sakura-chan, you know I'm the only person in the world you can't fool."

Ino walked over to the bed, sat next to Sakura and took her hand. "You know I don't want you to get in trouble, and I promise I won't tell anyone..." She watched Sakura shift away from her, then gently remove hand from hers. Ino took a deep breath and continued. "I've seen the post at Training Area 7, Sakura. Then I heard about you moping around Konoha after Naruto was declared missing. The fact that you didn't do that after Sasuke-emo deserted says much... to me. And I was too busy, and too selfish to notice it then."

Ino got up and knelt in front of Sakura. "But worse than that was me... not coming to you during that time." Ino shook her head. "And that's not what a friend should do, and I'm sorry for that." Ino bowed and added, "But now, that Sakura is gone, thank Kami." Ino gently laid her hands on Sakura's knees. "Admit it, Forehead, because everybody noticed the new you, the one that dragged me around Konoha on a Kage-class shopping spree. That's one heck of mood swing." Ino shifted closer to Sakura. "We both know the only person with that much influence on you... Naruto."

Sakura met the eyes of her kneeling best friend and softly sighed. She knew Ino was right, and had her nailed to the wall. Anyone else she could stand up to, or just lie her way out... both would fail pathetically against Ino. "I won't even try to lie to you Ino-chan... but I can't tell you anything. Silence is the only defense I have... I've been sworn to silence on the matter. I'd rather die, or destroy our friendship forever, than break my vow." Sakura said firmly but sadly and laid her hands atop Ino's.

Ino bit her bottom lip a moment then looked into her friend's teary green eyes, firm with resolve, and slowly shook her head. "There's that look again... the last time I saw it was when you faced me in the Chuunin Exams... the steel hard bitch that I've always known lives inside you, and will make you a great kunoichi... second only to me." Ino added a smile onto the last line.

Sakura smiled coyly and squeezed Ino's hands. "Thank you... Ino-pig."

Ino's smile in reply ran a far second to her inner smile. Sakura's declaration had given her the clue she needed. Ino debated pressing her dear friend further on the matter... then decided against it. She knew where to go to next, the Hokage... only she could have demanded, and gotten an oath so firm that Sakura would stand up to her. Besides, she had a feeling that Sakura would soon realize what she had accidentally done. '_No, let's have a bit of fun instead. I still need to make it up to Sakura for ignoring her when she needed me the most... I can't believe that I've been such a sorry excuse for a friend._' Ino stood up and shrugged her shoulders. "Okay. I understand your position and I won't press the matter."

Sakura smiled... then her eyes went wide with surprise. "Waitaminute... you're giving up? The legendary snoop of Konoha just quit on me?"

"What? You're turning down a win against me?" Ino replied with a slight sly smile.

Sakura eyed Ino warily. "The Ino that seems to know every juicy secret in Konoha, and has just given up on mine..." Her eyes narrowed... then suddenly went wide in alarm. Sakura moaned and threw herself face-down on her bed. She screamed into her pillow and Ino heard her mutter, "I'm such a baka... and a worthless failure."

'_Wow, she figured it out pretty damn quick._' Ino smiled sadly and shook her head. She joined Sakura on the bed and gathered her into her arms. Ino whispered into Sakura's ear, "No Forehead... you're anything but a failure." She gently kissed Sakura's ear and added, "You're just no match for me when it comes to finding out secrets, you should know that better than anyone in Konoha."

Sakura shifted in Ino's arms and looked up at Ino. "I do. But I'm still disappointed in myself."

Ino smiled and hugged her best friend. "Don't be. You've kept your oath, just remember next time that saying too little is always better than saying too much." Ino hugged Sakura again. "Actually, I'm very proud of you... I've always been proud of you, never think otherwise."

"Thank you." Sakura wriggled out of Ino's embrace, stood up and went to one of the bookcases in her room and began fiddling with some of her books.

Ino smiled and silently rose from the bed... then crept up on Sakura and grabbed... and groped her. "Aha, I thought so, still a B-cup."

Sakura eeped and froze as Ino pinched her nipples. She quickly mastered her surprise and looked back at Ino with a raised eyebrow, fighting to ignore Ino's surprisingly skilled touch. "Are you coming on to me, Ino-pig?" She added a faint brave smile and swallowed a moan.

Ino grinned lewdly. "Maybe." Then suddenly released her grasp on Sakura's breasts and took a step backwards.

Sakura turned around and gave Ino a suspicious eye. "Since when? The Ino-pig I _remember_ only talked about luring a certain boy into her bed and..."

Ino snorted and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh that... please Forehead, I grew a brain long ago. After that self-absorbed little prick deserted us, I realized what an idiot I had been." She shook her head. "I was so ashamed of myself... I gave up gossiping for 2 whole days!"

Sakura gave Ino a suspicious look. Ino giggled and added, "Okay, it was only _one_ day." They shared a laugh and Ino explained further, "No, I haven't totally changed sides... I still fancy men... _real_ men." Ino made a sour face. "I'm not into boys anymore, I'm through with them."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "Since when?" Then she eyed Ino closely. "And you didn't answer my first question."

Ino sighed and flopped gracefully onto Sakura's bed. '_I can't tell her what I truly know, and how I know... and what it did to me_.' She shifted her body to a sexy pose. "People change you know. Now take somebody like your Sensei, he's more my type..." She gave Sakura a twisted frown. "...but he's already taken."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Kakashi-sensei? You're joking, right?" Then she slipped into gossip-mode when she sensed that her best friend was totally serious. "Who's he with?"

Ino smiled coyly and purred her reply, "Kurenai."

Sakura snorted in disbelief. "Impossible. I thought she couldn't stand him." She shook her head and added, "She's always disapproved of his constant reading of Icha Icha, and has said as much."

Ino giggled and gave her friend a look. "Please, you doubt me?" Ino shifted her pose and wagged her finger at Sakura. "Rule number one, women are entitled to change their minds on anything, and anyone. And, you're forgetting they have something in common now... a missing Genin, or had you over-looked that fact?"

Sakura's face grew sad and she hugged herself. She replied softly, "No, I hadn't."

Ino mentally kicked herself for raising a painful memory so casually. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it that way." Ino ventured a smile and added, "At any rate, Kakashi's a regular overnighter, besides Anko... they've yet to show up at the same time."

That got Sakura's attention, she looked up in surprise. "Anko too?"

Ino grinned lewdly and replied, "Rumor has it that they share similar... tastes." Ino smiled to herself as Sakura leaned forward in anticipation. She added with a smile, "They both love long, thick snakes... from the front... _and_ behind."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up and covered her butt with both hands. "That sounds a little too painful for my liking." Then she raised an eyebrow and asked, "And what would you know about something like that?"

Ino giggled and gently patted her own derriere meaningfully. "You really should visit the Iron Kimono more often. You'd have a better idea of what sells well in the _other_ part of that shop... Hotaru-aneki has a _very_ complete selection of kunoichi... helpers." She gave Sakura a sensual smile. "I remember being told that a shinobi, by the Sandaime no less, should be ready for anything."

Sakura remembered the Hokage's visit to the Academy, and his lecture to their class. She gave Ino a dubious look. "I don't think he was talking about _that_."

Ino snorted and shook her head. "Of course not, silly." Ino sat up and rested her chin on her drawn-up knees. "That's entirely up to us." Her face turned serious. "We're kunoichi, and not every foe we face will be shinobi, or what passes for honorable in our world." She paused and toyed with her hair before continuing, "I remember you telling me about your first mission... and how _that_ went." Ino narrowed her eyes at Sakura. "Do I have to ask you what would have happened if someone like Gato had captured you alive?" She watched Sakura's face go pale. "Yes, I know we have the option, and the means to keep that from happening..."

Ino shook her head. "Enough about that. Here I am making you all emo and bringing up bad memories." She smiled apologetically. "I'm a terrible friend, I should be cheering you up and..." Ino smiled mischievously. "...making you feel better."

She gave Sakura a long thoughtful look and smiled. "You love Naruto, don't you?"

Sakura jerked as though Ino had goosed her with an icicle, and a large one at that. She gave Ino a guarded look. "What brought that on?"

Ino gave Sakura a knowing look. "If I'm right, _you_ have a problem on your hands." She held up her hand to silence any reply from her friend. "Hear me out. Now I'm not going to ask you to tell me _anything_ that might compromise your oath, but if... _if_ Naruto is alive and well... _somewhere_; he's also there with the one female in Konoha that loves him... madly, and completely... Hinata Hyuuga."

Sakura went stiff, and stared at Ino in disbelief. "Hinata...? The Clan Princess of the Hyuuga's?" She shook her head to clear it. "But..."

Ino rolled to her knees, put her hands on her hips and frowned. "But nothing, Forehead! Don't doubt me on this!" Ino pointed a finger at Sakura. "While you were busy beating up the boy you've finally admitted you love... in so many words. The shy, invisible in a crowd, can't put three words together without stuttering, and faints at the sight of Naruto's smile... _that_ Hinata has been stalking, and adoring him... for _years_." Ino watched her friend go stiff, and pale.

Ino got off the bed and walked towards Sakura. "Theoretically, since I don't know what's happened to Naruto, or Hinata-_hime_... I could say that your only rival for Naruto's heart has him all to herself." The look of panic in Sakura's eyes told her everything she needed to know. Ino leaned in and poked Sakura in the center of her legendary forehead. "You have a serious problem on your hands, girlfriend."

Sakura sank to the floor... her face the very model of dismay. She looked at Ino with despair. "What do I do? I can't..." Tears began roll down her cheeks.

Ino sighed, knelt down, kissed Sakura on the forehead, and smiled reassuringly. "No time for tears, Forehead. You've got a lot of catching up to do, and some serious competition on your hands." '_I don't dare mention that Hinata makes me look flat in comparison, that would utterly crush her._' "Don't worry, Sakura-chan, Ino's here to save the day." She stood up and yanked Sakura to her feet. "Now then, no more tears, and no more feeling sorry for yourself... that's the path to defeat." Ino pursed her lips in thought. "Now then, first we'll see what's in your closet, then you."

Sakura squeaked out, "Me?"

"Damn right. I need to know what I'm going to be working with, and what needs improving... so to speak." She gave Sakura a playful swat on the butt. "Now, to the closet... no time to waste, no time at all."

As Sakura walked towards her sizable clothes closet, Ino frowned in thought. '_I need to think up the right package of information to convince Tsunade that I'm worthy of being treated seriously. If I do this wrong, she'll just kick me out... if I'm lucky._'

===Saturday, April 12, 8:30 PM, Berlin-Lichtenberg District===

As tired as he was, Razin still marveled at the changes around him. The last time he had been to eastern Berlin, under the control of the USSR and the DDR, it had been a gray and unappealing place. Now it was a lively and well-lit city... even the shell and bullet scars on the buildings, reminders of the 1945 storming of the city were gone. He glanced at the darkened glass barrier dividing him from the driver of the limo taking him to Irinya... and considered the long, convoluted trip that had started at his apartment building.

Shortly after the light on the old man's phone private phone line had gone out, he had been summoned into his boss' office and briefed on a new mission, the one he was in the midst of... and had eagerly taken. Driven to his apartment, he walked in the front door, and had immediately gone to the rear entrance... to an awaiting Benz SUV with darkened windows. From there, with only a pair of silent companions, he was taken by an indirect route to Tula... an hour, and a new tailored suit later, taken to the airport and boarded a small private jet that whisked him to Berlin... and the limo he was riding in.

As the vehicle entered an older, but now attractively restored residential area, Razin suspected that this leg of his odyssey was almost finished. Several minutes, and many turns later, the limo came to a halt. A voice from a hidden speaker announced, "Look to your left... you will see a entrance light come on, then switch off. Walk to that door and enter, the door will be unsecured. Go directly upstairs and enter the first door on your right, there you will find what you seek... do not be alarmed, she is merely asleep. All else will be explained to you later."

After the male voice fell silent, Razin did as he was bid and saw a light turn on, then off... he got out and made his way across the quiet street. As promised, the door opened without issue revealing a dimly-lit hallway, and the stairs. Locking the door behind him, he went upstairs and opened the proper door. Like the rest of the house the room was dimly lit but it was enough for him to see Irinya, still dressed in her dark-blue FSB uniform, laying peacefully on a simple, but sturdy wooden bed. A few steps closer allowed him to see she was breathing normally... and the nasty bruise on her left temple.

Razin sat down on the bed and commented softly with a sad smile, "Once again, trouble follows you like a hungry wolf." A series of memories flashed through his mind... the cheerful little girl he first met; an older version, smiling as she danced on a stage; a sad young woman laying flowers on a pair of graves... He let out a sigh and put those memories aside, he needed to focus on the matter at hand. He started as a woman's voice, speaking in Russian, came from everywhere... an nowhere.

"As you can see, she is unharmed. On the nightstand next to the bed, you will see a large envelope. Inside are papers, plane tickets and passports." Razin noted the envelope and reached for it; the voice continued, "Do not attempt to awaken her, the sedative should be wearing off shortly, please let her adjust to that naturally."

Razin looked about as he opened the envelope and asked, "Is she all right?"

The impersonal tone of the voice lightened, "As best as we can tell without taking her to a hospital, yes. She appears to have a mild concussion, so be mindful of that... her balance, and perhaps her ability to focus may be impaired." Razin raised a bushy eyebrow as a light came on in an attached bathroom... seemingly by itself. "There are various items in the bathroom for her needs... and yours. In the closet behind you is a change of clothes for her, and a purse with concealed pockets, for all your real papers."

The voice added a warning tone. "I strongly suggest that she not appear in public wearing her uniform... _he_ has enlisted others to watch for her."

Razin growled under his breath, "No one will harm my Irishka... not while I still breathe."

"Do not worry on that account, you will be watched... and protected, until you have boarded your flight. From there, it will all be on you." Razin sensed a smile in the voice... until the last sentence. The voice added, "Until then, rest. And, if you desire it, there is food in the kitchen below you." The smile came back in voice. "I presume she'll want something to eat upon awakening."

Razin chuckled to himself; he suspected that the voice had never seen the results of a hungry Irina encountering a table of food... in an informal setting.

===April 10, 10:00 AM, Hokage Tower===

Shizune looked up from her desk when the hall door opened and Shikaku walked in. The look on his face was subtle, even by Jonin standards, but to her it was a big sign saying 'I'm about to fuck up your world.' Given yesterday's meeting, she had a fair idea why he had returned. Shizune stood and headed for Tsunade's door. "I'll inform the Hokage you're here."

Shikaku stopped near her desk as she spoke, and nodded in reply. The scroll in his vest pouch felt like it was burning a hole in his chest... and it was only part of the information he had gleaned from his reading of the clan's Ancient Scroll. What he'd discovered, added to what he learned in the meeting, nearly blew his mind... he didn't sleep a wink last night because of it. Plus, Yoshino was starting to act a little odd... there was something familiar about her behavior, he just couldn't remember what.

A moment later Shizune returned and sent him in.

===Tsunade's Office===

Shikaku stopped in front of her desk. He asked firmly, "Seal the room."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. This wasn't like him, but a look at his face told her he hadn't slept in a while, which for him, or any Nara, was serious. She nodded, activated the built in Sound and Security Seal then motioned for him to sit.

Shikaku removed the scroll from his vest and tossed it to her. "Copied last night from our Ancient Scroll."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up. Every major clan in Konoha had an Ancient Scroll from their clan founders long before Konoha had been established, never leaving the safety of their vaults, nor anything else in them, save at dire need. And every last clan would willingly fight to the death, to the last member, to protect their scroll. Tsunade took a deep breath, then nervously unrolled the first 3' of the scroll and began reading.

About 40 seconds later her head snapped up. "KAMI'S PINK PANTIES!" Tsunade exclaimed in shock. "This is a direct copy, word for word?" She asked nervously... Shikaku nodded in reply. "No wonder you look like shit... this is..."

"I know... and it gets better. Keep reading." Shikaku replied dryly and let out a tired sigh.

Tsunade went back to reading... the further along she read, the more intrigued, amazed... and aware that there were significant gaps in Shikaku's copy. But even with the gaps, what she had before her was more than enough food for thought. As she read on, her considerable intellect began to fill in those gaps. There was no possible way that such a kekkei-genkai could have existed, and not have a clan built around it. And then there was another aspect of this conundrum... with all her medical background, and learning, she had never read of, nor heard of, even the vaguest rumor of this blood-line.

And yet... She slapped her desk. "Alright Shikaku, come clean with me. How is it that your clan knows so much about this..." She looked back down at the scroll and found it. "...blood-line, the Gogyo-mon?" She tapped the scroll with her index finger. "This is _not_ a Nara Clan trait... or at least none that I've ever read, or heard of."

Shikaku opened his tired eyes and made a show of lighting a cigarette before replying. "No... it's not." He shut his eyes and sighed heavily. "And that's _why_ our clan still exists."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in surprise, then replied. "And I take it that the clan that had this blood-line doesn't exist anymore... a clan I've never heard of... and is obviously _not_ as extinct as you thought it was."

Shikaku re-opened, and narrowed his eyes at Tsunade. '_She doesn't know about them?_' He took a pull on his smoke. '_Could it be that they didn't tell her...?_' Shikaku nodded to himself. '_No, they wouldn't have... Tobirama made peace, and partnered with the Uchiha and Hyuuga's to create Konoha._' He sat up and replied, "No, apparently not. Even so, I'd keep reading if I were you... you haven't gotten to best parts yet."

Tsunade glanced down at the scroll and noticed that she'd barely read a third of it. She groaned and knew she was in for a very long day. Another scroll would be dropped in her lap by Ukemi later on this afternoon.

===Sunday, April 13, 01:15 GMT, LA Flight 73 (3 hours after departure), Mid-Atlantic===

The co-pilot looked up from radar display he'd studying for the last few minutes. "Hey Steve."

The pilot of the Lufthansa 747 out of Berlin took a sip of coffee and glanced to his right. "What's up, Falk?"

"I've been watching that weather front developing on our flight path... the one they mentioned at Flight Ops."

The pilot leaned over and peeked. "Hmm... that doesn't look good. What do you think?"

The co-pilot rubbed his chin and frowned. "I'd say we have about an hour before we hit the leading edge... I don't like the way its shaping up. I think we can climb over the worst of it... if ATC gives us permission to go to angels 37 and a half."

The pilot looked at the display again and frowned. "I'll get on horn, hopefully there's some east-bounds in the neighborhood... it would be nice to get a heads-up before we hit that bitch head-on."

===April 11, 8:30 AM, Hokage Tower===

"I need to see Tsunade-sama." Ino said.

Shizune replied, "Tsunade has been locked in her office since 6:00 this morning and I was told very clearly that she doesn't want to be bothered until 11:00 at least when she has lunch, so please come back this afternoon. If you wish, you can make an appointment to see her."

"She must have a list of people she'll see, right?" Ino asked. Shizune nodded after a long moment. "Then I suggest you add me to that list." Ino reached into her hip pouch, pulled out a thick envelop and dropped it her desk. "That should prove that I'm worth the Hokage's time to talk to." Ino pointed at the envelope and gave Shizune a thin smile. "Go ahead and look."

Shizune stared at the envelope for a few seconds before picking it up and opening it. As she unfolded the papers, a photograph fluttered out and fell face-down, Shizune picked up the photo and looked at it... then immediately put in her pocket. She looked up, wide-eyed at Ino. "You didn't..."

Ino smiled in reply and answered, "Yes, I'm that good."

Shizune turned her attention back to the documents, doing her best to ignore what she had seen. She quickly scanned each page, her eyes narrowing as she glanced over them. Shizune looked up at Ino and asked in the gravest tone she could muster, "And your willing to swear to all of this?"

Ino nodded in reply and added, "And that's only part of the good stuff... there's more, _much_ more." Ino contemplated dropping another serious bit of info on her... than decided to hold back, she recalled a comment Shika-chan had made once in a shogi match with Asuma-sensei, just before he crushed him, '_Only attack with a major piece to hinder your opponent's choices, or to fatally compromise his defenses._' "You didn't think I'd try to gain the Hokage's attention with news of who's sleeping with whom... I trust."

Shizune grimaced at that tidbit, she didn't even want to guess who's life Ino could turn inside-out. She replied in a low voice, "Even that isn't a subject for casual discussion, depending on who's involved."

"You're right. Even I know the difference between gossip and... black gossip." Ino replied in an equally low voice.

"I see. If you understand the full implications of what might happen next, I'll talk to Tsunade-sama." Ino nodded her assent. "Wait here." Shizune said, pressed a button on her desk, then entered the Hokage's office, carrying the folded papers and closed the door behind her.

Ino sighed with relief. She wasn't bluffing, but she didn't want to reveal too much... the truly explosive info... or at least she hoped it was, was her final trump card. She fully realized that she was entering the game at, or near-ANBU level. Ino had long decided, after seeing her dearest friend disappear in a swirl of leaves... supposedly into Hokage Monument, that she wasn't going to get left behind.

For that to happen on the heels of her less than sparkling performance in the Chuunin Exams would be too much to bear. Everyone around her was moving forward, towards some unknown higher stage... her pride as a Yamanaka, and the heir at that, urged Ino to match her peers.

Ino began to pump up her courage; her final gambit would propel her into dangerous territory... Tsunade and Naruto. She had yet to crack Naruto's secret... that was a high iron wall with no breaks in it, but she had long discerned Tsunade-sama's more than casual affection for the former goofy prankster of Konoha. The comments of her father's best friends, usually fueled by too much sake, and what she had learned of his role in the invasion by Oto and Suna... that was the tipping point for her.

She finally understood why Forehead felt the way she did. The Dead Last-san of their Academy days was actually a quiet... no, scratch that... the loud and brash Genin of her class was every bit the hero he'd proclaimed he would be.

Something momentous had happened during that trip with Jiraiya-sama, the one that returned the Slug Sannin to Konoha, she was certain of that. But that was a tangled knot that she had deliberately set aside, for the moment. Now she'd be jumping into a black pit, bare-handed... and possibly flicking the nose of the deadliest kunoichi in all the Elemental Nations. Ino willed her legs to remain still as she saw the door to the Hokage's office open. There was no turning back now, not after she'd handed off those papers.

Shizune came out, her face revealing nothing. She closed to within arm's length and announced, "Go on in Ino... and good luck."

Ino took a deep breath and walked past Shizune, softly replying, "Thanks, I'll need it." Then disappeared into Tsunade's office.

Shizune went back to her desk and activated a special seal. A moment later 2 ANBU appeared in a swirl of leaves. "Guard that door, this is an S-Rank priority on my authority. No one enters that office, I don't care who it is. If anyone disturbs her... you can explain your failure to the Hokage." Shizune said in her sternest voice then returned to her desk, resuming her work... putting the memory of that photo that Tsunade had quickly confiscated, in a private place... for later.

The 2 ANBU nodded and immediately took their places on either side of the door.

"Did anyone important show up?" Ox asked casually in a low voice.

"If Tsunade-sama is in there, it doesn't matter who the other person is." Horse replied evenly.

Ox just nodded in agreement. He and Horse were 2 of the Senior ANBU; both had over 20 years experience, and had earned their position as the Hokage's personal guards. That translated into... do as told, don't question an order, or ask questions. Besides, he'd been around in the old days and seen Tsunade in action... she was a lot stronger now. He'd be hard-pressed to imagine anyone walking in that room that the Hokage couldn't handle.

===A Moment Ago, Tsunade's Office===

Ino walked in and as she shut the door behind her, saw Tsunade put the papers she'd given Shizune being dropped in a drawer. Tsunade locked it, then stared across her desk at Ino and motioned her to sit in a chair directly in front of her desk. Ino crossed the room and sat down, looking as confident as she could muster.

Tsunade leaned forward and rested her chin on her folded hands, her face carefully neutral. Her voice matched that face as dhe spoke. "I trust, Genin Yamanaka, that you're ready for what will happen next." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her monumental bust and added, "What I read in those papers was bad enough, Shizune hinting to me that you had further explosive tags to slap on my ass, at a time when I have more troubles than the Wolf's Claw has sharp, pointy objects, has _not_ improved my mood."

She gave Ino a cold, thin smile and added, "Don't misunderstand me, I have scant tolerance for corruption, and potential threats against Konoha. But this..." Tsunade pointed a finger at her desk. "... is the sort of material I would expect from my ANBU... not from some fresh-faced Genin who_ barely_ distinguished herself in the last Chuunin Exam, to present to me." She paused and sharpened her gaze on Ino. Who, to her credit, remained utterly still and stone-faced, in spite of her Hokage's unflattering observation.

Tsunade sighed softly. "Now then, the question I have to ask myself is this... why now? I have the distinct impression that what you wrote down has been gathered over a significant period of time." Tsunade added silently, '_Where was this talent and determination hiding during the exam, Ino? And what in Kami's name possessed you to darken my door now?_'

"I'll give one chance to explain yourself, to my satisfaction, and make it quick before I lose my remaining patience." Tsunade stated coldly. She knew she was being harsh, but the information gained from Shikaku and Ukemi's clan scrolls had robbed her of a night's sleep... the bloodline issue, among other things, was starting to get to her.

Ino flinched, took a breath and summoned all her courage. "I want in on whatever is going on with Sakura."

Tsunade internally flinched, the first crack in the wall of secrecy she had built around the Stargate had finally appeared... at the hands of a Genin no less. She replied in her blandest voice, "Nothing is going on... if Sakura finding herself is an issue, talk to her."

"I did... and Sakura can't lie to me. I don't care what you have to do, but whatever Sakura is doing _inside_ the Hokage Monument... I want in on it."

Tsunade went still as she considered her options. '_So, Inoichi's daughter has finally shown herself... I should of expected it since the Nara's are in the know. Well, it could be worse... I could be staring down Danzo instead._' She smiled behind her hands and thought further, '_I wonder if she has any dirt on Danzo? That would be to good to be true._' Tsunade leaned forward, elbows on her desk. "I'll only ask you once Ino Yamanaka, and I strongly suggest you tell me the whole truth... your's, and Sakura's life is at stake. What did Sakura say to you?"

"Absolutely nothing... but I could of easily made her." '_At the cost of our friendship._' Ino mentally added. "Everything I know is from my own investigation, and knowing Sakura better than anyone else... including you, Hokage-sama." Ino replied, then fell silent when Tsunade raised her hand.

"First things first." Tsunade stated with a tiny smile, then flashed through a series of hand seals and uttered the command phrase, "CURTAIN OF SHADOWS!" A solid black line a foot wide rose up the wall to the ceiling, between the windows, then extended around the room like a thick, black curtain, making the walls black and the ceiling and floor shadowy, but the room stayed bright. "It's an A-Rank Security Seal, this room isn't here as far as the outside world can tell, nothing goes out or comes in until I dispel it."

Ino took a breath, let it out slowly, then told Tsunade everything _she_ knew so that her friends, and fellow Genin didn't get in trouble. When Ino finished, she knew her very carefully worded confession only implicated her, everything from 'the ring', to a carefully edited version of her chat with Sakura last night.

After Ino had finished, Tsunade smiled as if she'd just heard a nice story. "Sakura is working on a special project for me to upgrade the shelters based on reports from after the invasion, but the rest are rumors. You have nothing, but to avoid any trouble, keep that information to yourself or our next meeting won't be this pleasant." Tsunade explained calmly.

Ino closed her eyes and sighed. '_Kami above, I hope I survive the next 5 minutes._' "I'd hoped to forego this... but it appears that you doubt my skill, and the depth of my... research." Ino frowned, reached into her pouch, and pulled out a thinner envelope. "This information concerns someone we both know." Ino deliberately paused, then stood up, laid it on Tsunade's desk with respectful bow, and remained standing.

Outwardly, Tsunade eyed it with detached scrutiny, inwardly, her guts turned to ice. While Ino's statement could encompass several people... her mind focused on the two people that mattered to her. Jiraiya, her sole surviving friend from her youth, and Naruto. The latter a source of joy and pride, and her godson... that she'd abandoned for a multi-year spree of anger and self-pity, heavily laced with gambling and sake.

She willed her hand to remain steady as it reached for the envelope. As Tsunade picked it up, she looked at Ino and said, "If this is a clever ploy to gain my trust, and a lie... I'll break every bone in your body, heal you, and then I'll give you to Anko to do with whatever she wishes, and your clan be damned."

Ino exerted every ounce of will she had keep from wetting herself, she had overheard stories about Anko from her father's T & I co-workers. Once the cell door closed behind her, the Anko you met at her favorite dango stand, no longer existed... and Kami-sama help you when that moment came. Once she trusted her voice, Ino replied, "I'm prepared to stand behind everything I've written down." Ino drew herself up and continued, "I'll match my devotion, and commitment to Konoha with anyone wearing the leaf."

Tsunade looked Ino in the eyes and replied, "I'll hold you to that, Ino Yamanaka."

That done, she opened the envelope and began reading... after a minute of poring over Ino's writings, Tsunade went still... then Ino heard the desk before her creak and groan, then stepped back when she noticed Tsunade's fist was pressed against the top of it... and fine cracks began radiating outward from it. Then she switched her gaze to Tsunade's face, and stepped back again... while her face was studiously neutral, her eyes were filled with a murderous fury. Tsunade looked up from papers in her hand and addressed Ino in a quiet, low voice. "In the name of the Shodai Hokage, do you swear this all true?"

Ino went to the floor and assumed the shinobi position of fealty... her right knee and fist against the floor, her head and body bowed respectfully. "Hai, Hokage-sama, in the name Hashirama Senju, I swear that all I have seen, and heard, is the truth as I know it." She then added, "And in the name of my clan, my father and mother, I also swear it so."

Tsunade laid the papers down, stood up and turned to face the shadowy wall behind her, saying no more aloud. '_That filthy motherless bastard... that monster..._' She heard her knuckles crack and pop... then willed her hands to open and relax. '_I will get you for this, you'll not escape my hand with clever, pious words about... 'for the good of Konoha'. No, not this time._' After a few minutes of contemplation and debate, Tsunade turned and spoke, "Stand up, Genin Yamanaka." She turned and faced Ino. "Other than the... demand you voiced to me earlier, did you come here with any thought of reward, or favor?"

Ino paused in thought, then bowed her head before replying, "I apologize if my request came across as a demand, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade favored Ino with a twisted, half-smile. "It did." She held up her hand to silence any response from Ino. "I've read your Sensei's report on his team, and you, Ino. He stated that you have a tendency to seize control when you think your teammates are drifting, or indecisive." She nodded to herself and smiled, "That sounds a little bit too much like me... in my younger days; Shikamaru and Chouji have my sympathies." Tsunade smirked and added, "You also seem to share other traits with me, but we'll talk about that later. Now then, back to my original question. What is it that you want?"

Ino replied with a shy smile. "A chance to sit down would be a good start." Tsunade smiled in reply and motioned Ino to sit. After taking her seat, Ino continued, "If you mean money... when you said reward, nothing. That's not why I came here." Ino pursed her lips and frowned in thought. "As to favors... I have a feeling that if you allow me to be with Sakura, anything I might have in mind... just might fly out the nearest window."

Tsunade, sitting as well, smiled behind her hands. '_Oh, you are a clever young woman... and worthy of the Yamanaka name._' Tsunade leaned back in her chair and grinned. "Yes, I suppose that _is_ a possibility. However, you still haven't answered my question."

Ino turned thoughtful again, and after a long moment replied, "I don't want to get left behind... I know something is happening, something big." Ino raised a finger. "All of us... I mean all the clan heirs suddenly getting the jutsu scrolls we've been begging for, suddenly dropped in our laps." Ino raised a second finger. "My father has never been so quiet these past days, and the look in his eyes when he sits by himself... you'd think every Hidden Village we know is going to come marching up to our gates any day now." Ino shook her head sadly and raised a third finger. "And Shika-chan has dropped off the face of the earth... he's even stopped cloud watching, at least where we can find him..." Ino narrowed her eyes at Tsunade. "...did you honestly think we... I, wouldn't notice _that?_"

Tsunade laughed in spite of the information Ino had laid before her. She sighed heavily and replied, "Point taken." '_Yes, you're becoming quite the kunoichi Konoha hopes for._'

Ino raised a fourth finger. "I shouldn't even have to mention Sakura, but I will. I honestly can't recall the last time I've seen her so happy... and at peace, and so _focused_, at least not since the night before finals at the Academy." Ino snorted. "I could have placed an exploding tag under her chair, and I don't think she would have noticed." Ino leaned forward. "So, whatever is happening here... I want in on it _now_, before it hits me like Chouji in Meat Tank-mode... which I figure is going to happen to me anyway."

A plan started to form in Tsunade's mind, she grinned slyly at Ino and replied, "There will be conditions..."

Ino snorted in disbelief. "I'd faint with surprise if there weren't."

Tsunade chuckled and continued, ignoring Ino's justifiable outburst. "First off, I want all the information you've gathered, and a full essay on _how_ you gathered it... no omissions, no lapses of memory. Agreed?" Ino nodded, it was a small price to pay for being reunited with Sakura. "Good, the next condition is that you surrender the negative of that photo you gave Shizune... it wouldn't do to have a picture of Kakashi's face floating about..." She gave Ino a meaningful look. "...especially of him doing something especially intimate with a fellow Jonin, _and_ all the copies you possess of said photo.

Ino muttered, "It's no big deal to me if she likes having her Southern Gate attacked..." Then noted the frown on Tsunade's face. Ino sighed and nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

After a moment of thought, Tsunade added, "And I want _any_ photos you possess of _anyone,_ surrendered to ANBU." Tsunade leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. "Including any future ones you take."

Tsunade's declaration hit her... Ino raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to continue gathering... gossip research?"

Tsunade put on her best innocent face. "No. You'll be too busy gathering information for Konoha. I'll see that it gets into the right hands." After a moment, Tsunade switched gears. "Wait a minute, aren't you a trifle young to know about such things like the Southern Gate?"

Ino raised an eyebrow and tapped the hitai-ite around her waist with a finger. "Surely you don't think you're the only kunoichi that shops at the Iron Kimono? I know all about the other shop in the back... although I suspect things were different when you..." Ino left that sentence unfinished when she saw the look in Tsunade's eyes. She cleared her throat. "At any rate, my particular method of gathering gossip had an... unexpected effect on me; and I suppose, a penalty as well." Ino sighed and met Tsunade's gaze. "Success is rarely cost-free, or so I've been told. I'll leave the rest to your imagination."

Tsunade didn't see the eyes of a 13 year-old Genin looking back at her. '_I think it's better that I don't know... right now, but later, yes._' "I see... and yes, you're right in one respect, as you are about to find out, that success does have a price." Tsunade picked up the papers Ino had given her, folded them, and held them like a banner. "Among other things, you can consider yourself..." She searched her brain for the right word, then remembered something Shogun had written. "...a sub-contractor of ANBU. You'll get an appropriate modification of your ID card to reflect that status, not to mention their protection."

Tsunade applied her official seal to the papers and locked them up in her desk, then looked at Ino with a smile. "One of my other conditions is that you become a med-nin. I trust you have no problems with that?" She took Ino's smile as a yes. "Good. Now, just for the record, everything you see and hear from this point on will be considered an S-rank secret."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Ino agreed, then asked, "By the way, will I be apprenticed to... someone?"

Tsunade frowned in thought and replied, "That's a good question." She nodded to herself and added, "Actually, there's a number of issues to consider, given the state of your Genin Team... and the others." Tsunade's frown deepened. '_Everything is so... out of order right now. I need to get a handle on this soon._' "Let me think about it for the moment. I'll come up with something." '_Perhaps I should ask Shogun for advice..._' Tsunade let out a quiet sigh then reset her face to Hokage-mode. "Come back at 12:30, sharp. You're dismissed until then." Tsunade dispelled the security jutsu.

Ino stood and bowed. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

===April 11, 8:53 AM, Tsunade's Office===

After Ino left, Tsunade slowly shook her head while smiling. "Yet another of Rookie 11..." She used the new term for the remarkable Genin of Naruto's class. "...has stepped forward." She frowned to herself as considered the others... now currently in a holding pattern. She took sour consolation with one reality, once the secret of the Stargate was partially lifted, there'd be not further need for IMO status for the surviving team... Guy's.

However, that still left the matter of Kurenai's broken team, and a team-less Kakashi... he was far too valuable an asset as a Jonin-sensei to lay unused, especially since he'd come to realize his faults. '_I definitely need to write Shogun... he must have dealt with this kind of problem himself, or worse._' Tsunade groaned as recalled all the information on Gogyo-mon bloodline she had been given... and the history of the clan that had been built around it. A clan that was supposedly wiped out to the last infant child... '_So much for that story._'

Ukemi's writings had provided some of the pieces to that puzzle; and why she was never told of their existence by any of the elders in the Senju Clan... not even Mito-obasama. Maintaining the peace of Konoha with its two, now one prominent clan. Tsunade took out a blank scroll and unrolled it, she needed to know more about the man named Ric... and the unknown shinobi clan he was related to. She needed to reconcile what she had read in Naruto and Hinata's scrolls to her... and what she had learned yesterday. Tsunade had two different pictures that didn't match in the least... and that was a problem. In either case, Tsunade had a feeling that she was inviting a storm in through the front door, her gut told her that much.

As Tsunade picked up a brush, her mind wandered back to Ino. '_I wonder if Ino understands the full scope of what she's done. She did what every other Elemental Nation has tried to do almost since they were founded. If I told anyone a Genin, not a year out of the Academy, had created a method of gathering information on a Hidden Village that puts every other method in use to shame... they'd call me crazy. Just on what I know I could promote her to Special Jonin, but she needs training first._' Tsunade thought with a smile; she couldn't wait to find out what that method was and read Ino's gossip files... after she finished her letter to Shogun.

===Sunday, April 13, 02:03 GMT, LA Flight 73 (4 hrs after departure), Mid-Atlantic===

Resting with his eyes shut, but with both ears wide open, Razin noted Irina's restlessness. His thoughts went back to their reunion at the Berlin safe house...

===Flashback: Berlin===

Everything had gone well enough... Irina had awakened shortly after his arrival, and as expected... confused and frantic until she focused on Razin's presence. After he convinced her that all was well, he helped Irina downstairs to the kitchen, and her first real meal of a very eventful day.

While she ate, Razin give Irina the details of the incident from a official perspective, and related her granduncle's mood during it all... and talked about his dramatic change after the phone call on his private line.

Even though Irina was still suffering the effects of the injury to her head, she still managed to focus on the details, ask some pointed questions, and recovered some of her professional demeanor.

While Razin was satisfied that she seemed well enough to continue her journey to SGC... his silent debate over her injuries, and the need to get Irina away from Federov, still continued. In the end, his adherence to his boss' order to get Irina to safety won out.

That bit of business done, he helped Irina back upstairs where she cleaned up and changed, just in time for their trip to the airport. Even in her current state, she had enough presence of mind to keep questions to a minimum, and to the point.

During the ride to the airport, they both shared a laugh when they realized, after looking over the documents supplied to them by their mysterious benefactor, that they were traveling as father and daughter... not that Razin minded. And, as promised, they had boarded their flight without incident and took their seats in the World Club section of the plane.

===End Flashback===

Razin sensed her move again, opened his eyes, and watched Irina getting to her feet. "What's wrong, Irishka?" He asked quietly, nearly everyone around them was asleep except for a few business-types reading documents, or books.

Steadying herself on the seat-back in front of them, she muttered, "Headache... bathroom... need to go." Razin made room for her to pass. After reaching the aisle, she made her way forward to the pair of lavatories on the port side.

A few steps away from her goal, a flight attendant popped out the aft galley, bearing a tray of food. She came to quick stop, her eyes glancing up at the bandage on Irina's temple. She smiled and asked, "Do you need anything, Miss?"

Irina nodded at the lavatory and moved past the attendant... then a soft tone went off and the Fasten Seatbelts message lit up.

The attendant set down the tray and asked, "Do you need..." Then the 747 shuddered and sharply pitched to starboard... propelling Irina head-first into the right-hand wall.

As Irina slumped to her knees, Razin sprang from his seat and moved to kneel beside her. He put his arms around her and asked, "Are you all right, little one?" The 747 shuddered again.

Blurry-eyed, she looked at Razin and nodded, just as the PA came to life. The pilot announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we're in for a bit of turbulence, please remain in your seats until further notice."

Razin snorted in ill-humor and helped Irina to her feet with the assistance of the attendant, who looked at her closely as she rose.

Irina willed herself to stand evenly, in spite of the airliner's occasional unsteadiness. "I am fine, thank you." At that, Razin and attendant guided her back to their seats, putting Irina in the aisle seat, at the flight attendant's insistence.

Razin debated the merits of asking for the plane to land at the nearest major airport... then recalled the Generál's, and the voice at the house, warning him that she was being hunted by a dangerous and powerful enemy... Federov.

Unknowing of a new factor added to Irina's injury... the creation of a micro-lesion in a vein within her brain, he decided that SGC was the only safe, final stop for her. It would prove to be a life-changing decision... for both of them.

===April 11, 11:52 AM, Aburame Estate===

She'd spent 3 hours communing with nature and done some light training to keep her skills sharp, taken a hot shower and was laying in her bed, clad only in her green panties, and reading a copy of Icha Icha Paradise she'd picked up the other day.

"Good morning Suzu-chan." Ukemi had suddenly appeared in her doorway without warning, again.

Suzumebachi leapt out of her bed. "Don't do that!" Suzu almost yelled then took a few deep breaths and calmed herself. "You're a scary bitch, you know that... I've never met anyone that can move like you do... and not make a fucking sound." She noted the smile on Ukemi's face and what it might presage. "So, where are Ukemi and Suki Aburame going today?" Suzu asked, her face showed her feelings about dressing like them and hiding who she was.

Ukemi smiled. "Not today Suzu-chan, from now on Konoha gets to know of Suzumebachi, a Genin of Konoha." Ukemi replied, took her right hand out of her coat pocket and held it out, palm up.

Suzu's eyes got as big as saucers, she walked up to Ukemi and stared at her hand... specifically a Leaf hitai-ite with a black band. "Please tell me this isn't a joke... because if you're just teasing me..."

"I was given full authority over you, which means I can make you a Leaf kunoichi... or kill you. You've passed every test I gave you. Take it, you earned it." Ukemi said in her passive voice, but there was pride in it too.

Suzu looked at her, wondering when she was tested... then her eyes widened as she realized that as smart as she was... she was a stupid child compared to Ukemi. She bowed low. "Thank you Ukemi-san, I'm honored that I've proven myself to you and earned the privilege of wearing the Leaf hitai-ite." Then stood, took her prize and was about to tie it around her neck when she froze.

"Is something wrong?" Ukemi asked.

"Earning my Iwa hitai-ite meant very little to me, to them I went from being little better than a street whore, to expendable tits and ass... even after I became a Chuunin and completed several B-Ranked missions, I got very little respect. I can count the number of respected Iwa kunoichi on one hand. Please... tie this on me." Suzu asked.

Ukemi nodded and took back the headband as Suzu turned around. It didn't show on her face, but inside, Ukemi Aburame's legendary cool was straining to contain the rage growing within her. She'd been to Iwa more times than she cared to remember and seen how they treated their kunoichi. Her hive buzzed briefly. "My pleasure. Forehead?"

Suzu nodded. She'd heard the angry buzz of Ukemi's hive, but didn't react to it, she did have a good idea why she'd be upset. Suzu felt it tied snugly around her forehead, then hands gently gripped her shoulders. "Thank you... that part of my life is over and means nothing to me." She mentally added. '_Except for my Clan's ancestral home._'

"I have things I must do today, but tomorrow, the whole day is yours... on me; clothes, food, anything you want... you've earned it." Ukemi replied, smiling.

Suzu turned to face her, and with only a brief nervous sigh, opened Ukemi's coat, not surprised to find she was nude, stepped closer, slipping her arms inside and around Ukemi's body, and rested her head on her huge breasts. This was the first time she'd been this bold, while she knew Ukemi could easy kill her, she hoped for the other reaction by her guardian... and best friend.

Ukemi's smile grew as she closed her coat around Suzu and enjoyed the moment. Ukemi thought, '_I love you too._'

===Saturday, April 13, 11:57 PM, O'Donnell Lodge===

Sam brushed the popcorn out of her hair and waved her hands in surrender. "Alright already! I admit it, they were both okay films." Jack smiled in triumph and popped some the ammo for his next barrage in his mouth.

Naruto leaned forward and looked at Sam. "_Okay?_ They were AWESOME!" Naruto turned to Jack with his Puppy Eyes Jutsu running full tilt. "Can we watch them again?"

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "Aren't you tired?" Naruto's response was a foxy smile as he started bouncing in place on the sofa.

Jeri laughed and stood up. "I'd take that as a _no_, Colonel." He pointed at the flat-screen with his beer bottle. "The funny part of it all is that we've got a couple o'young'uns here that _can_ do all those wire-fu stunts... and then some."

Hinata sat quietly, still captivated by what she had seen. While she knew they were cinematic presentations of Taijutsu, the graceful movements of the women fighters in offense and defense had sparked her imagination... she had never seen that many demonstrations of the precise use of feet to strike an opponent, or to block and deflect attacks.

A part of her was fascinated by the possibilities... she knew through discussions, and training with Kurenai-sensei that leg strength always exceeded arm strength. And, having watched Lee-kun and Guy-sensei enough times, she knew the utility of using all four limbs in Taijutsu. But the other part of her, dominated by tradition, and many years of demanding training under her father's eye. And later, ruthlessly and relentlessly enforced on her by one particular elder... the sum total of those moments demanded that she cast aside _any_ ideas contrary to the clan's idealized fighting style... the Gentle Fist.

For her sanity's sake, Hinata had locked those dark memories up, and hidden the key. And, what she had experienced, and learned thus far amongst her newest friends, had strengthened those locks... but even so, Hinata _knew_ what would happen if she dared to voice her opinions aloud within the Main Branch. Hinata knew that she was nowhere near the level of skill, nor strong enough to handle the consequences of saying what her heart, and mind, demanded of her.

Hinata shook her head and looked at all her new friends... laughing and joking. She covertly glanced at Naruto smiling and repeating his favorite lines from the movies they had just watched, more happy and carefree than she could ever recall. No... things were different here, more than she could ever dared hope for, or imagine.

The playful spar she had with Ric not that long ago... _that_ had roused a part of her that had long been buried. While she had held back against him... Ric still managed to surprise her with moves that seemed to have been specifically created to counter the Gentle Fist... that, and her suspicion that he had been holding back as well... it had given much food for thought.

All of the days she had experienced thus far reminded Hinata that her horizons had been forever altered. And, that there was a world worth examining beyond the confining stone walls of the Hyuuga Clan's compound. She smiled to herself, and spoke up. "I'd like to watch them again, please."

Ric noted the thoughtful smile Hinata wore, with a grin he announced, "Okay then, that's two votes for an encore." He swept the room with the remote as though it was microphone. "Well, what say you..." Then fell silent as his Blackberry, one of the items that had been in briefcase sent by Rudman, resting in his shirt pocket, signaled the arrival of an e-mail.

Hinata watched, as everyone else did, Ric pull out the device and thumbed it... she easily sensed his cheerful demeanor vanish as he stared at the smartphone's screen. His face turned serious, suddenly tossed the remote to Daniel, and stuffed the Blackberry into a front pants pocket... no one failed to notice the color in his irises beginning to churn like an angry storm-cloud, nor his shift in body language. Both Jack and Jeri held their breath, and waited.

For the first time since Naruto had laid eyes on Jack's friend, he got a sensation of wariness... not specifically towards him, nor anyone else in the room, but a small voice in his head whispered... approach with caution.

The change in Ric's eyes was also noted by his inner guest... who chose to remain silent.

Jack beat Jeri to voicing the question; both of them had seen this sort of moment before, but had _never_ talked about it. "What's wrong Ric? What did you..."

"I have to go." The tone in Ric's voice brooked no argument; he began to turn towards the open doorway.

Alarmed at the sudden shift in his friend's mood, among other things, Jack opted for the 'pull rank' gambit. "Stand fast, Major." Everyone flinched at the tone in Jack's voice. He added, "Situation report."

It worked... Ric froze, his years of training kicking in. He replied, "That e-mail... it stated that Irina is en route to Denver... and that she's in trouble." Ric looked at his wristwatch and added, "She arrives in less than 2 hours." He drew himself up straight and set his shoulders. "I'm going. You decide amongst yourselves who's coming along." Ric appeared calmer, but no one moved to stop him as he left, heading towards the bedrooms at the back of the lodge.

Sam stood up and looked at Jack... she motioned to her own eyes, "What the hell was that?" She glanced at the doorway and added, "And who's Irina?"

Both Jack and Jeri let out matching sighs. Jeri spoke first, "His lady friend from Russia."

Hinata stood up and faced Sam. "What you saw was the activation of his Blood-Line."

Jack added, "Yeah... I guess. It happened when Hinata did her chakra thing on Ric... it was kinda freaky when I first saw it."

Sam flapped her arms in exasperation. "Really, _sir?_" Jack winced at tone in Sam's voice. "And when were you planning on telling us..." Sam jerked with surprise and looked at Hinata. "...did you say blood-line?"

Teal'c spoke up. "I suggest that this topic be set aside." He stood up and added, "Major Von Krieger is obviously worried about his mate." His tone was very matter-of-fact. "I can fully appreciate that sensation... and I respectfully submit that attempting to hinder him will _not_ turn out well. I further suggest that we follow his advice and decide who is going, and who is staying."

Jack surveyed the looks on everyone's faces and sighed. He waved his hands at everyone. "Okay, go get ready." He looked at Jeri and added, "Make sure everything's locked up when we leave."

===Saturday, April 11, 12:40 PM, Hokage Tower===

Sitting at her desk Shizune felt the office seal deactivate and smiled briefly. She raised her head from her paperwork and looked at the far wall. "You can go in now." Shizune said.

===Tsunade's Office===

Tsunade was sitting at her desk, smiling at the stunned, almost blank expression on Ino's face. She was right, but was also very impressed... unlike Sakura, Ino hadn't passed out from shock. "Are you okay Ino?"

Ino blinked a few times and her brain restarted. "Huh... oh, hai. I'm fine... I guess."

Tsunade and Ino turned to the door when it opened. Ino was surprised, Tsunade wasn't, she'd told Shizune to send them in after the Seal was deactivated.

"You wanted to see us Tsunade-sama?" Hakumei asked, and stopped after she saw Ino.

"Tsunade-sama?" Ukemi asked, nodding at Ino.

"Please shut the door and lock it." Tsunade asked and Hakumei obeyed. "Thank you, and to answer your questions, I just told her everything... and now that you're both here, it's time for the tour." Tsunade explained as she walked around her desk, took Ino's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Academy roof, South-West corner, then the shelters." Tsunade said, then vanished with Ino in a swirl of leaves.

Ukemi and Hakumei followed a moment later.

===1:03 PM, KSC===

Having passed the Genjutsu Seals protecting the entrance, Tsunade led the slightly dazed trio down the first ramp... and laughed. "Once you learn how to bypass the seals that won't happen anymore, you'll be fine in a minute. Before we get to the Gate Room, you should all know that what you've been told... is only the basics. You'll forgive me for doing it to you... Ino, you've only had the C-Rank briefing, Ukemi, Hakumei... B-Rank... this is the A-Rank... which includes a basic tour.".

"So, we're essentially Genin again?" Ukemi asked.

Tsunade had to struggle to contain her laughter, which came out like a cough. "You and Hakumei are more like new Chuunin... but, yes."

Hakumei slumped against the tunnel wall. "Oh fuck me sideways."

Everyone stopped and stared at Hakumei in surprise, they'd never heard an experienced Hyuuga swear.

Her face pinking, Hakumei smiled. "I, uh..." She stammered, then laughed nervously.

Tsunade giggled. "We can forget this happened... right? We do have more important things to do than embarrass Hakumei and hold this over her head the rest of her life."

"Oh, hai Tsunade-sama." Ino replied and gave Hakumei her soon to be patented, 'I've got your number' smile.

"Before you ask Hakumei-chan... you're probably in trouble. I'll explain why Ino is smiling like that later." Tsunade explained as she walked, not looking back. You didn't hand one of the more notorious gossips in Konoha fodder on a golden plate, however minor... at least not knowingly.

Hakumei noted the Yamanaka's smile, the Hokage's comment, and resumed her air of Hyuuga reserve. She strongly suspected that Ino's look, and the Hokage's comment, were clues as to why a mere Genin, out of the blue, had suddenly been included in a tour of a secret facility. Ukemi was having parallel thoughts... even if she was a clan heir, she discerned no obvious reason for Ino's presence.

===1:07 PM, Stargate Chamber===

Sakura, along with Shiho and Shikamaru, turned to the entrance when Tsunade came in, but before Sakura could greet her, she saw a Hyuuga woman, a tall Aburame woman, and to her pleasant surprise, Ino. With a huge smile on her face, Sakura leapt out of her chair, dashed across the room and scooped up Ino in a crushing hug. "You did it Ino-chan... I knew you could do it." Sakura whispered in Ino's ear.

"Air." Ino gasped... her eyes wide with surprise; she hadn't guessed that Tsunade-sama had been teaching her strength technique to Sakura. She was set down immediately, took a deep breath, then partially just to embarrass Sakura... hugged her back and gave Sakura a full kiss on the lips.

"I don't want to know." Shikamaru sighed and turned his attention back to the scroll he'd gotten from a man named Daniel Jackson.

"Oh, I do." Ukemi said in an almost lusty voice.

Tsunade smirked and pointed, her 3 guests followed the direction of her finger and gasped in shock. "That, ladies, is why you're here, and how Naruto and Hinata got to another world." She announced and began walking towards it with the new-comers in tow.

"This is what you've been doing Sakura-chan?" Ino asked as she walked arm-in-arm with Sakura.

"Hai... meet the one ring in Konoha that won't fit in your jewelry box, Ino... and it weighs more than your house." Sakura replied with a sly grin.

Ukemi Flash-Stepped across the room to the base of the 'gate, threw her arms out and forward and a huge swarm of tiny beetles poured from her sleeves and covered every millimeter of the ring in a layer of beetles.

"What's she doing?" Sakura asked nervously.

Her face now in Hokage Mode, Tsunade answered. "I'd say she's getting a better look at it than any of us can... except for Hakumei." She glanced at the Hyuuga, who hadn't taken her eyes off the Stargate for several moments and added, "And yes, when Ukemi-dono's done, you can examine it with your Byakuugan... you'll be the first. To be honest, I've been waiting for a chance like this, there's only so much we can do."

"I know it's only a medical jutsu, but have you tried using diagnostic jutsus on it, Tsunade-sama?" Hakumei asked curiously.

Tsunade sighed softly. "Hai. And it failed utterly. I've tried every jutsu in my arsenal that might tell me something... nothing has worked. What we really need a specialist; someone with an Earth affinity, excellent chakra control and knowledge of..."

"Tenten." Ino interrupted.

Everyone turned to look at Ino, except Ukemi, but no one turned faster than Tsunade. "What?"

Ino smiled proudly. "You may have the best shinobi in Konoha helping you, and no offense, but you've neglected one of two people in Fire Country, or any other Nation, that can tell you anything you want to know about that thing." Ino explained as she hooked her thumb at the Stargate. "Since you haven't asked her father... and I doubt it's in her file, but Tenten has unique skills, that allow her to do things that few in the Elemental Nations can. Trust me on this Tsunade-sama, if you bring Tenten in on this, I promise you that within 24 hours she'll know everything about that ring that's worth knowing. At least as far as the metal it's made of is concerned."

Ino looked at their stunned faces. "When you consider that her father is probably the finest smith, anywhere, if anyone has learned, or can come up with an analysis jutsu for metal... it would be Tenten."

Tsunade started laughing... how she was laughing made everyone nervously step away from her.

===Sunday, April 13, 1:33 AM, Denver International Airport===

Depending on which vehicle you were in, the drive to Denver's airport was either very quiet, or very lively. Jack, Naruto, and Hinata had chosen to ride with Ric. Jack's chief role had been reining in Ric's casual disregard for the speed limit, oddly enough assisted, at Ric's suggestion, by Hinata's Byakuugan... who unerringly spotted the Colorado State Patrol cruisers, lurking in wait for speeders, long before they became an issue.

For Naruto and Hinata, the drive to the airport changed their definition of... speed. Neither of them could have imagined that something as large and heavy as Ric's SUV could exceed the fastest Jonin in Konoha.

What little conversation that did take place was Naruto and Hinata trading quiet comments, and Naruto putting a couple of questions to the Kyuubi. She had agreed with Teal'c's observation, that Ric felt his mate was in danger. She also warned Naruto to step lightly... she still hadn't recalled anything specific about Ric's atypical chakra, but she easily identified with Ric's mood. And suspected that Naruto's reaction to Hinata being threatened would be _less_ restrained... and far more perilous for anyone in his path. However, she kept _that_ observation to herself.

Hinata, when she had gone to her bedroom to put the special contact lenses back in, had felt an overwhelming urge to take another item with her... the Gem of Life. Touching the wrapped gem in her jacket pocket did wonders to control her anxiety over Ric's mood... she got the distinct impression that Suimei was gently stroking her hand as they raced towards the airport.

With Jeri in the Suburban, the animated conversation, mainly between Sam and Daniel, occasionally salted with blunt observations by Teal'c, and cryptic comments by Jeri, had finally died down. In the end, Daniel had successfully diffused Sam's opinion that Ric was more than a little insane, but not the impression that Ric was far more dangerous than his mild, and humorous demeanor let on.

They arrived at Denver International with over 10 minutes to spare, and parking was barely an issue given what time it was. Ric's group walked into the west side of the Jeppesen Terminal first, with Jeri and his passengers not far behind. The more experienced travelers in both groups sought out the arrival board... they spotted the flight in question, Lufthansa flight 73, Concourse A, and the gate number, A43.

At this point, Jack regained control of the situation. He turned to Daniel and pointed, "Go to the Lufthansa desk and check on status of the flight." He then turned the assembled group and added, "While there is a footbridge and a underground train that connects to the concourses, they'll have to go through Customs and Immigration, which won't be an issue with our IDs... SGC has an understanding with those folks."

Daniel trotted back and reported, "We're in luck, Flight 73 is still 10 or so minutes away from hitting the gate." He glance at Ric and added. "They had a bit of turbulence along the way, that's why the flight is running late... no news on any passengers getting hurt."

Jack sighed and looked at Ric. Thankfully his eyes had reverted back to normal, and he had finally calmed down. "We'll take the train to the concourse, it'll be quicker." He paused for a moment, snapped his fingers, and turned to Ric. "Do you have a picture of her on you?" Ric pulled out his wallet and handed over a photo... Jack showed it to everyone.

Sam summed up the general opinion. "Wow, she's..."

Jeri finished up the comment, "...all that and a bag of chips."

Jack handed the photo back and pointed to the stairs leading down to the train. "Let's get going."

===1:41 AM, Lufthansa Flight 73===

Razin spotted a long white building as the 747 taxied closer, he looked at Irina and gently squeezed her hand. "We are almost there, little one."

She stirred in her seat and slowly turned to look. "That's good." The bleeding inside her skull had been a trickle, but the effects were becoming obvious... if you recognized the signs.

Razin kept a neutral face. She had complained earlier that her headache was getting worse. The medicine he had taken from the Berlin safe house wasn't working anymore. He knew something was wrong, but hoped that they'd get to SGC before things got too serious.

Irina sat up and smiled. She ignored the pain and blinked, attempting to focus her vision. She turned to Razin and asked, "Give me my purse... there's a brush in it, and some makeup." She reached up and removed the bandage from her head.

This time, Razin openly frowned with concern, but chose not contest the issue.

===1:45 AM, Gate A43===

Jack looked at Ric... again. He asked in a low voice, "Are we cool now?" Ric sighed and nodded. Jack leaned closer and added, "What happened back there at the lodge?"

Ric shrugged in reply. "I'm not sure... I don't think that Mr. Chakra and I have come an understanding yet."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Chakra?"

Ric gave Jack a twisted smile. "I've got to call him something... I don't think you understand what's been going on inside of me since Hinata fixed my... problem." He saw the look on Jack's face and added, "And don't bother telling Dr. Fraiser. There's not a damn thing she can do about it, one way or the other... it's all strictly on me."

Jack frowned and asked, "What's it like?"

Ric put on a thoughtful face and after a few moments replied, "It's sorta like having a wild horse as your best friend... he'll let you on him, but sometimes _he_ decides which way to go..." He gave Jack a quirky smile. "...and all you can do is hang on, and dodge the tree limbs."

Jack considered going to Janet, then ditched the idea. Ever since Hinata and Naruto had awoken his, and his friends chakra... things _had_ changed. He had no words to describe it, but he had noticed the change in the other SG1 members, and himself. Ric was right... he couldn't imagine what Ric was going through. The Ric he had met in Iraq had been weird and scary enough as it is.

Teal'c spoke up. "I believe the passengers are coming out now."

The flight hadn't been that crowded... after a few minutes most of the passengers had walked past them and headed off to claim their luggage. As their numbers dwindled... and no Irina appeared, Jack noticed Ric tensing up, he gave his friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "She'll be there." He saw Ric smile, and looked down the tunnel... Jack spotted her instantly, the picture Ric had shown them didn't do her justice. He commented on the man next to her, steadying Irina as they walked towards them. "Who's the old guy?"

Ric grinned and replied, "That's Starshiná Stanimir Radimirov Razin... a crazy old Cossack, and her granduncle's bodyguard. He and I have lifted a glass or two of vodka together... he's quite a character, and he adores Irina."

Several feet away, Hinata was seeing something else. She tugged on Sam's jacket and quietly commented, "Something's wrong. Her walk is unsteady, and she's in considerable pain."

Sam narrowed her eyes and looked closer. Then she realized that Ric's girlfriend hadn't reacted to his presence yet. '_She's less than 40 feet away, and she doesn't see him?_' Sam glanced at Hinata and asked quietly, "I think you should get behind me and _look_ at her." Then Sam saw the older man say something, the woman... Irina, smiled weakly and increased the speed of her unsteady gait.

Hinata understood the unspoken request and did as asked. A few seconds later, she heard Hinata gasp. Sam asked, "What's wrong..." She watched the woman collapse... as did everyone else.

Hinata grabbed Sam's jacket halting her movement forward... not that she had a chance of beating Ric. He'd bolted towards the woman before Jack could even blink twice. Hinata spoke as Sam looked back, "There's something wrong with her head... it has to be an injury." Hinata tugged on Sam's jacket again. "She needs help... _quickly_."

Sam pulled out her cell phone, but Hinata put her hand over it. "I can help her..." She looked about the concourse. "...but I can't do it here."

Jeri had overheard every word. He growled out, "Don't worry, we'll find something." He looked at a worried Naruto, also taking everything in. "Come with me, son."

-x-

After a few minutes of searching, Ric carried a limp Irina into a nearby break room, followed by Hinata and Sam. Jack and the rest waited outside. The older man, Razin, had taken a fair amount of persuading by Daniel and Jeri, all speaking in Russian, to keep him from going in as well. And, where Jack's ID had failed to deter the arriving airport security, Jeri had flashed a special Delta Force ID that he always kept on himself... somewhere.

Inside the break room, after Sam had swept a table clean with her arm, Ric gently laid Irina down and sat beside her, refusing to let go out her hand. Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself, then reached into jacket and pulled out the Gem of Life... to her complete surprise, it was glowing brightly through the cloth it was wrapped in... which she quickly tossed aside.

The voice of Suimei filled her head. "_**I sensed your distress, Hinata-sama. What is it that you require of me?**_"

Hinata did her best to shut out Ric's gentle words to the unconscious woman... the look on Ric's face would have been enough to start tears flowing. She replied to Suimei. "_The woman before me is badly hurt... I think she may die soon if I don't help her._"

"_**Why do you wish to help her?**_" The question caught Hinata off guard.

Hinata switched her gaze to Ric's face and fought to remain calm. "_Because she needs help, and... my friend will be grief-stricken if he loses her._"

Suimei replied calmly, "_**All things must pass, Hinata-sama. You do not know this woman, you may be saving the life of a dark and wicked soul.**_"

Hinata started at the yosei's reply. "_I refuse to believe that. I know Ric, he is not wicked, nor dark. I reject the notion that Ric could love someone who was without worth._" She looked at the woman laying on the table and added, "_I won't stand by and watch others suffer, or withhold help to someone in need... and I will not allow someone to die if I have the means to help them._"

Suimei asked, "_**Are you certain of this? Is this what you truly believe?**_"

Hinata set her jaw and replied, "_If the Gem of Life withholds aid from those in need, then it is the not the Gem of Life... it is the Gem of Judgment. I will NOT judge who is worthy, and who is not, without knowledge of their actions, and their heart._"

To Hinata's surprise, a different voice replied... a solemn, yet gentle, woman's voice. "_**Well spoken, child of the Hyuugas. Your heart has revealed the Path that I set before your clan, the Path I had hoped your clan would seek.**_" Hinata felt a peaceful, but almost overwhelming power flow into her as the new voice filled her mind. "_**Your resolve does you credit; your compassion, and concern for others does you credit as well. I see your true heart and know that you that you treasure life, and do not take it needlessly, nor for your own gain.**_"

Hinata almost felt weightless at the pronouncement, her sadness and anxiety dispelled.

After a moment of silence, the voice continued. "_**Lay the gem upon the woman's chest; then join your hand with the woman, and the man who cares for her more than his own life. Let the woman named Sam remain, for she shall bear witness to what will come next. I entreat you, and her to remain silent. I must focus on what must be done, and shall do. The children of Nanami and Kaminari will be joined... she will lend him her passion, he will lend her his strength.**_"

Hinata sensed a smile behind the voice. "_**I will make some... adjustments. Both of them have had defects imposed on them that... that I suspect they would not willingly bear, if they had been given the opportunity to chose.**_"

The voice sensed Hinata's unasked question. "_**No my child, duty and destiny should not be set aside, nor casually altered... they are two of the many things that define someone.**_"

Hinata did as she was bid to do... the light within the gem grew in intensity. Sam, without knowing why, stood mute and watched as the light filled the room...

===Within the Light===

Irina opened her eyes and wondered at the endless sea of white. She looked down at her naked body, oddly unsurprised by her lack of clothes, or its translucency, nor the floating sensation she was experiencing. On a whim, she glanced backwards and noted the absence of wings. '_No, I'm not there... not that I expected to be._' She thought with a tiny smirk. Then she felt the sensation of movement despite the lack of reference points... shortly thereafter, she discerned the presence of someone else. As she drew closer, she _knew_ it was her Ric, like-wise naked and floating like her, but looking intently in a different direction.

She willed herself to close with him... the ache that she'd felt when he left Moscow sharpened at the sight him. In her heart, she knew the only way to allay that pang was to reach him... and hold him again. She cried out to gain his attention, but no words came forth... the whiteness about her seemingly swallowed them up. As she drew closer, he turned to face her, as if somehow he knew she was close at hand... the very gesture of Ric holding out his arms, propelled her to him. And, as she'd hoped, the ache vanished the moment they touched.

"I missed you." His simple declaration filled her like a torrent.

For some reason, she felt no urge to reply, except with an embrace. From him, she needed no further words, the sensation of his touch was more comforting than the tenderest words he could have uttered.

A woman's voice, strong and clear, rang through the white void. "**Do you desire to be joined?**"

They exchanged looks, the arrival of the voice was hardly any stranger than the place they found themselves in, and equally unthreatening. Irina's response was to tighten her embrace of Ric, he did like-wise.

Ric spoke up, "Who are you; what is this place; and, why are we here?"

"**Who I am... you will learn that, and more, soon enough. This place? You are within me. And why... because someone you know cares for you, and her, and desires to heal, rather than harm.**"

Ric considered each response and held back any reply. He, like Irina, felt nothing threatening... or evil, only peace and serenity.

The voice spoke again. "**Do you wish this joining, even though he is a child of Kaminari?**"

Ric quietly noted that wrapped within her question, a potentially vital fact for him had been revealed.

For the first time since finding herself within this mysterious place, Irina's voice came forth. "I don't understand what you mean."

The voice explained, "**He is a seeker of strength, that is why he chose you. He will always be drawn to it, just as others will be drawn to him, it is his nature.**"

Irina mulled over the statement, and what it implied. "Are you saying that he will abandon me for someone else, or forget me?" She felt Ric squeeze her hand in reply, it arrested any immediate doubts.

"**No. I can see into his heart, that is not in his nature.**" Was the voice's response.

Irina declared, "Then I don't care. As long as loves me and desires me at his side, then that is enough."

"**Is this what you truly want?**" They both tightened their mutual embrace. "**Then so be it.**" A moment later, they witnessed a small, pulsing sphere of light grow within each of them. The spheres slowly exchanged bodies... then diffused within their new homes. "**It is done.**"

Ric and Irina felt themselves being gently separated. "**I must repair the injury she has suffered, and make a few minor changes...**"

Ric tightened his grip on Irina's hand. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that last part." After the words came out, Ric got the feeling that he was like a child challenging an adult... or a parent.

"**Allow me to be generous, and perhaps a tiny bit selfish... please accept it as a parting gift from me.**" They both sensed the smile in the voice as they were finally separated.

As they drifted further apart, Irina asked, "Will we meet again?"

"**That will be up to you, and the choices you make. The best path will bring you back to me.**" Ric and Irina watched each other's body begin to fade. "**Listen to the true heart, it will guide you, and warn you, on your Path to Enlightenment. Know this: courage, strength, will, honesty, compassion, selflessness, and patience... these are virtues you would do well to maintain, rather than set aside when they seem a burden.**"

===A few moments earlier, inside the Break Room===

Sam watched Hinata place the glowing gem on the woman's chest, then put her hand atop Ric's and the woman's... the gem began to pulse, slowly growing brighter. As much as Sam's intrinsic curiosity urged her to move closer, and launch a stream of questions concerning everything she was seeing... she felt rooted in place, and gripped with a contrary urge to remain silent.

Focusing on the gem, Sam half-guessed that the gem's pulse mirrored the stricken woman's heartbeat... which wasn't a good sign as it seemed to be slowing down. Then, without preamble, the intensity of the gem's glow grew, filling the break room with an exquisite blue light...

===Same time, outside the Break Room, Concourse A===

Naruto edged closer to Jack, glancing at Jeri and the older man, still engaged in a lively... conversation. "What are they arguing about, Jack?"

Jack shrugged in reply. "Dunno, my Russian is limited to hello, goodbye, and... I need a beer."

Daniel supplied helpfully, "The older man keeps insisting that he wants to be with the woman... Irina, in the break room. He says he has orders to get her to..." Daniel lowered his voice. "...SGC."

Naruto replied in a quiet voice. "He's worried, and scared."

Jack noticed that the trio of airport police they had chased off earlier, were all staring at them... no, scratch that, they were looking _past_ them. He peeked over his shoulder and saw a pale blue light leaking out from the bottom of the door. '_Oh crap!_' He turned to Daniel and whispered, "Any ideas for a good cover story?"

Daniel resisted the urge to look back at the door. "Let me guess... there's weirdness going on behind us..." He watched the three airport cops go into a huddle, all of them taking turns looking in their direction. "...and..." Daniel fell silent as the hair on the back of his neck went up. He struggled to cope with his recently awakened chakra... churning restlessly below his stomach. He muttered through his teeth, "You feel it too?"

Jack nodded and replied quietly, "Yeah. And I'm glad my stomach is more empty than full." He glanced at Naruto. "You wouldn't happen to know what's going on in there, would you?"

'_Hina-chan's using the gem._' Having been inside the temple, he knew, and shook off the growing waves of chakra flowing out the closed room. Before he could reply to Jack's question, Naruto froze as a new wave of chakra, different... and far more powerful than the gem's, passed through him... then relaxed as a peaceful warmth embraced him.

===Naruto's Mindscape===

Restless over the turn of the evening's events, the Kyuubi twitched her tails and reviewed Naruto's memory again... the stormy eyes of the one named Ric, and through Naruto's remarkable senses, a better grasp of his odd chakra.

As she searched her extensive memory with these new clues, she stiffened as a rush of potent... and unexpectedly comforting chakra swept through her. '_**I know this chakra...**_' She fell to her knees as a very familiar sensation embraced her. Still in her hanyou form, the Kyuubi raised her hands and touched her face... tears brushed her finger tips, and she _remembered..._ "**kaasan**" The word came out as a whisper.

===April 13, 1:51 AM, Concourse A, DIA===

Unhindered by physical barriers, this new wave of chakra flowed beyond the concourse... and while it touched everyone present, only a select few possessed the capacity to perceive it...

===1:59 AM, Break Room, Concourse A===

Hinata opened her eyes and let out a soft breath. She gently picked up the Gem of Life... now in it's usual state, glowing softly. Hinata rewrapped it and put back in her jacket pocket. That done, she looked about the room and noticed Sam still standing motionless and wide-eyed.

With a final glance, she assured herself that Ric and his friend... Irina, were only sleeping lightly. She smiled at the sight of their hands still joined, then turned towards Sam and spoke softly, "Ano... Sam?"

Sam shook herself and sat heavily in the nearest chair. She looked at Ric and Irina. "Are they... okay?" As if on cue, both them began to stir.

Sam cocked an eyebrow at Hinata. "And what was the deal with that voice?" Sam realized her hands were still trembling and clasped them together. "And, what did she mean by 'joining'?

Hinata smiled reassuringly. "I was told that they might be a little... disoriented. Akarumu-sama healed the woman... Irina-san." She withheld any further comment on what else the Sage had done. She assumed that any changes to either of them would become apparent... soon enough.

As to Sam's other queries... "I think it might be better if we waited to discuss your other questions. General Hammond entrusted me with learning more about the Gem of Life." Hinata gently rubbed her temples and sighed. "I think everyone necessary should be present when I talk more about it."

Sam flash-backed to the endless sea of white light, and her own naked, translucent body... she shook her head to clear it. "Okay... I guess." As she looked at the woman laying on the table, her long, shapely legs began to move. Sam noted she was missing a shoe and made a face as she recalled the woman's collapse. "What was wrong with her?"

Hinata replied in a low voice. "There was bleeding inside her head." She moved closer to Sam and added with a whisper, "She was dying..." Hinata shut her eyes as she remembered Ric kneeling and gathering the woman into his arms... and his stricken face. "I did what I thought was right."

Sam saw the look on Hinata's face... she stood up and gave Hinata a hug. "You did just fine... I'm sure Janet would be _very_ proud of you." Hinata's smile in reply was beyond worth.

Sam peeked at the table and saw a fully-awake Ric gently touching the woman's face. She whispered in Hinata's ear, "Come on, let's go find Cinderella's slipper."

Sam immediately hastened a slightly bewildered Hinata out of the room.

===April 13, 2:35 AM, outside Jeppesen Terminal, DIA===

Jack took in the sight of Ric, with Irina wrapped around his arm, and held back a smirk. "So... are we ready to head back to SGC?"

Naruto whined, "I wanna go back to the house, besides all my... our stuff is still there."

Ric kept a straight face as Irina kissed him lightly on the neck. "I suppose we should report in now that we have foreign nationals on our hands." He gave Jack a sly look. "And _you_ can drag General Hammond out of bed at..." Ric glanced at his wristwatch. "...hmm... half past two in the morning, on a Sunday." He reached into his jacket, pulled out a cell phone, and offered it to Jack. "You can do the honors... _sir._"

Jack eyed the cell like it was a live grenade. "Ahh... on second thought, we _do_ have a lot of things to take back with us."

Irina purred, "Darling, you are so fortunate to have such a clever and handsome commander."

Jack's grin morphed into a frown as he heard a snicker. "Did you have something to add, Major Carter?"

Sam grinned and replied with a thick Slavic accent, "No, fearless leader."

After the laughter died down, Jack shook his head and pointed at the parking garage. "Let's get out of here before Homeland Security scoops us all up for questioning."

Teal'c nodded sagely, "Indeed."

As they walked towards their vehicles, none of them noticed a lone figure step out of a shadow and walk back into the terminal.

===April 13, 9:37 AM, Kitchen, O'Donnell Lodge===

Daniel stirred some scrambled eggs in a large cast iron skillet, then flipped the bacon on the griddle. He announced, "Everything will be ready in a couple of minutes." He tapped the skillet with a wooden spoon. "By the way, what was the deal with Jeri taking off so early?"

Jack grabbed a biscuit and split it. "The good Sergeant had a long chat with the old guy... Razin, and took him back to SGC." Jack smeared some honey on the divided biscuit. "As I understand it, there was a bit of trouble back in Ruskie land... no details on that though, but Razin was pretty insistent about sending a message back to his boss to let him know they got here in one piece."

Daniel nodded in reply and started removing the bacon from the griddle. "Why did Teal'c go as well?"

Jack paused from taking a bite of his biscuit and replied, "He said that he remembered some personal business... something about getting a message sent to Chulak." He took a nibble of the biscuit and added, "That's about all he would say to me. Anyway, Sergeant Hayes said he'd be back in awhile to help carry everything back."

Sam added, "Teal'c was wearing a thoughtful face all the way back here... and I noticed that he kept glancing at Ric and Irina after we got back to the lodge..." Sam shrugged. "...maybe he was thinking about somebody back home."

"So, what was that light coming out of the room all about?" Jack took a sip from his mug.

Sam shrugged in reply. "I asked Hinata about it... but she told me that she'd explain everything _after_ we got back to SGC." She reached for a slice of toast. "Somebody pass me the strawberry jam and..." The remainder of her request died as their newest guest shuffled into the kitchen wearing a indifferently buttoned, thin white shirt... and damn little else.

Irina yawned and waved to everyone, adding in a sleepy voice, "Privyet." She went to the coffee maker and opened the cabinet above it... flashing a very firm and shapely backside as she reached for some mugs.

Sam silently buttered her toast as she watched Jack glancing at Irina's... assets, he quickly refocused on his biscuit when he sensed Sam staring darkly at him. Without further comment, Irina filled and left with 2 mugs of coffee. After several moments of silence, Sam spoke up, "I hope she's got more clothing than _that_... or Hammond's going have a cow."

Jack smiled at the tone of voice in Sam's observation from behind his coffee mug, and briefly imagined Sam in a similar mode of dress. "I don't think we have to worry about that, I suspect she'll find something from supply to work with."

Sam visualized the tall, shapely Russian in a half-unzipped SGC mission jumpsuit... and various men colliding into walls as she made her way through the base. Sam shook her head to clear away the image. Sam muttered, "That's what I'm afraid of."

===April 12, 7:32 AM, Konoha Hospital===

"Thanks for sharing a room with me, perhaps next time we can do it without our clothes." Jiraiya said to the 30-something brunette nurse with the impressive chest, a small perverted smile on his face. She was at least an F cup he figured, and while he'd seen her around the hospital before, it was never this close.

She smirked briefly and sighed softly. "Don't force me to kick you somewhere... important." She replied, and finished filling out the discharge form on her clipboard, then held it out for him. "I am flattered that you'd make a pass at me... as perverted as it was, we both know you didn't mean it." She added quietly, "And just between us, I'm not interested in one-night stands, even with you."

Jiraiya glanced past her then dropped his pervert mask. "I meant what I said, but if you can keep it a secret, and don't mind an occasional female partner, I do have a very small, select group of regular lovers." Jiraiya replied seriously.

Her eyebrows went up slightly. She checked his expression closely and was genuinely surprised at his unexpected sincerity. "Mokanomi... I'll think about it, but if this is some perverted trick, I promise you every woman in Konoha will be hunting for your balls."

Jiraiya nodded and pulled a card from a concealed pocket inside his gi top, then handed it to her. "If you want to meet the real Jiraiya, leave a message here, she'll be sure I get it." He gave her a winning smile, then grabbed the clipboard and walked around her, opened the door and left the room.

She glanced back at the door to be sure no one was there and briefly rubbed herself through her skirt. "What the Hell, its been over 10 years since I've had any fun." She muttered quietly with a smile, then put her professional face back on, walked out and went back to work.

x

Jiraiya strolled up to the Main Desk with a big smile... noting the name of the young woman posted there. "Hey Kaori-chan, I passed with flying colors, as usual... would you sign me out... and maybe escort me to the door?" Jiraiya asked while leaning on the counter.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you're alright Jiraiya-dono, but I can't do that. Besides, most of the nurses are glad you were unconscious, and want you gone as soon as possible." Kaori replied with a playful smirk, and a wink, letting him know she wasn't adverse to his presence at the hospital.

Jiraiya put his right over his chest and put on a shocked expression... briefly. "At least someone here has good taste and respect for someone of my status..." Jiraiya announced and did a brief noble pose, then sighed loudly when she giggled. "I get more respect from Tsunade when she knocks me through a wall." Jiraiya grumbled, signed out and left.

Kaori slowly shook her head, smiling, as he walked towards the main entrance.

===A Minute Later, Outside===

"Hmm, I should have time for some breakfast, but what's nearby and has cute waitresses?" Jiraiya said to himself as he considered his options, then smiled and began walking towards his apprentice's favorite place to eat.

===7:40 AM, Ichiraku Ramen===

Jiraiya stepped through the curtain, stopped and smiled at the only other customer... sitting on the right-most stool of 4. His rationale for smiling... that particular stool was basically a shrine, only a very select few were permitted to sit on it. The reason: that was Naruto's regular seat. He walked in and sat on the next stool over. He gave everyone a cheerful grin. "Morning."

"Morning, Jiraiya-dono... I didn't expect to see you here this morning." Sakura observed with a friendly grin.

"Good morning Jiraiya-san, what can I get you this morning?" Ayame asked with an agreeable smile.

"A Naruto Special, chicken... a small, I have an appointment at 8:00." Jiraiya replied. Ayame nodded and turned to prepare it.

Sakura finished her remaining noodles. "I'm glad you're okay." Sakura added in a whisper, "Will you be there later?"

"Hai, that's my appointment, with Tsu-chan." Jiraiya replied in a whisper.

Sakura suppressed a giggle at Jiraiya's pet name for the Hokage and faintly nodded. "Thank you Ayame-chan." Sakura stood and reached into her utility pouch for her wallet.

Jiraiya stayed her hand. "Allow me, any lady allowed on that seat won't pay for her meal while I'm around."

"Thank you Jiraiya-dono." Sakura replied, gave him a smile and proper bow, then departed.

"That was nice of you Jiraiya... Naruto-kun would of been proud of you." Ayame observed, the sadness in her voice was overshadowed by the pride on her face.

Jiraiya hid his sadness, he desperately wanted to tell her that Naruto was alive as she was one of Naruto's precious people... but he couldn't do it. What made it worse was his awareness of how she felt about him. He glanced at the stool... the seat was orange instead of black, and on the far side of the counter across from it was a gold plaque, 12" wide and 8" high. Engraved on it were these words...

* START *

In Memory of Naruto Uzumaki

Konoha Genin / Team 7

Born during the Kyuubi attack

Died age 13

We'll never see his equal again.

x END *

A few moments later Ayame set the extra large, steaming bowl of chicken ramen in front of Jiraiya. "On the house." Ayame declared, kissed her right index finger, touched the plaque and walked back to the stove.

Jiraiya smiled and gave her a nod before he dug in. '_She deserves better for what she's going through... and no matter what it costs, I'm going to see that she get's her due._' Jiraiya thought.

===April 13, 8:50 AM (AKD Time), South West Alaska===

Eriko looked down at the passing Yukon Delta, still encrusted with snow... from what she knew, the spring thaw was still a couple of weeks away. She considered it the perfect metaphor for her current position. '_I should have listened to Min and stayed inside the jet._' The memory of Ric, his companions, and... her, ran through her mind unbidden. Eriko bit her lower lip to chase away the memory of them walking arm-in-arm out of the building.

No, she had far more important things to consider... like the overwhelming chakra that had swept through her. Eriko stared at the DVD disk on the table in front of her, a copy of the airport's security camera feeds. And a pair of DV cassettes... from the vidcams that Min and Ursula had wielded from their hidden vantage points.

She had looked at the security footage shortly after take-off... the mysterious blue light that had leaked from around the door, and it's sudden growth in intensity. The time-stamp of the footage matched the moment the unknown chakra filled her, and her companions, with a sensation of bliss.

And the light wasn't the only enigma... Eriko was beyond certain that Ric's companions had felt that chakra too, her skilled eyes had noted that. However, the supreme riddle was the presence of the two youths in that group of adults. The blond-haired boy, and the indigo-haired girl, the latter disappearing into the room with Ric, and his stricken lover... who had unexplainably left the room under her own power several minutes later.

That room, and the light that had come from it... it was the origin point of _that_ chakra, she was equally certain of that. She was fairly certain that none of the people who had gone into that room was the author of that chakra.

And then there was the matter of the blond-haired youth... he too had subtly reacted to it, but had masked his reaction with such ease that only two possibilities stepped forward... that he was insensate to the chakra... or, he was familiar with that level of power.

An implausible situation... unless he was extraordinary in some way. But that wasn't for her to decide, regardless of her opinion... no, all that had transpired this very morning would be set before the Dai-kage to ponder... and act upon.

Eriko considered the possibility of a return to Denver... and smiled wistfully.

x

End of Chapter 11

x

Author's responses:

cyberbeta: Thanks, they'll travel soon, and you'll find out soon enough.

killjoy92: Will anyone else be on naruto's arm, do you honestly think I'm gonna tell anyone that? *smile*

deathmvp: Thanks, and they are a good couple in the show, can't say if they'll hook up or not.

zmanjz: Thank you very much, I'm very proud of this fic too, my best ever, and hopefully will only get better.

SeanHicks4: Glad ya liked the gunfight a the end, it made a great ending for the chapter.

x

Editor's Note: Okay, loyal readers... first off, _don't_ get spoiled by this early arrival. There was a fair amount of content that got deferred from chapter 10 and placed in this chapter for a better 'fit'. Secondly, don't be afraid to read this chapter a second time... there's _a butt-load_ of details and _clues_ dropped amongst the 30k+ words of the newest installment of NinjaGate, to include a teasing peek at the Gogyo-mon blood-line (my baby, and happily adopted by the author for this fanfic... and yes, there are original jutsus as well).

And, as to _why_ this chapter is _so_ big... coffee, Marlboro's, and discovering a brand of candy bars that my Muse _can't_ resist. Oh yeah, being between terms at school didn't hurt either.

BTW, howdy to all you new readers, I also hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Feel free to toss in your two cents by way of a review... positive and constructive comments are _always_ welcome.

And now, a few replies from me:

Lord Anubis Judge of the dead: Always glad to see another satisfied customer.

sterata: Sorry about that, but don't worry... most of them are dead now anyway... ;)

WRose: Hopefully this chapter tickled your fancy.

Malix2: Hmm... well, that's your taste, and you're perfectly entitled to it. And yes, your one point is well-taken, there was a bit of 'brushing against the guard-rails' there, sorry about that. All that being said, this _is_ an M fic, and doesn't have (or _want_ to have) the 'House of Mouse' Seal of Approval. As to your hand-wringing about 'sexual stuff'... huh? What part of 'M' don't you get? But you _are_ right, there is some pretty awful stuff on FFN despite the Moderators 'johnny-come-lately' attitude against 'adult content'.

And, since you brought it up, the 'dark side of being kunoichi' gets your knickers in a twist? So what about 6 to 13 year-old boys and girls getting their hands wet with blood? You're cool with the latter (since you didn't mention it), but the _former_ bothers you? Please, forgive me if I scoff at your sensitivities. Naruto may be a Shonen Manga, but the last time I looked, there's some pretty dark shite going on in it... if you're paying attention.

And as what you do and don't want to see in fic... _nobody_ is bending your arm to read this fanfic. Man-up and hang with the story, or not... it's your choice.

skipper 1337: Dude... hint: **paragraphs**... and pause for a breath now and then. That being said, your enthusiasm has been duly noted by the author... just ease up on the caffeine a touch before your next review. ;)

Albert da Snake: Thanks, glad to see there's at least reader out (who'll take the time to review this fanfic) who 'gets it'. And you're right, the world _is_ full of light, _and_ shadow... it's a package deal. And yes, you're welcome.

Major Simi: you have no idea... glad you enjoyed that half of the story-line (unlike some _others_...). And hey, your review was double the usual one... come on, let's go for triple next time. :)


	12. Connections

Ninjagate

Connections

By: MikeJV37

x

Author's Note: As the manga appears to be coming to an end and certain facts have been revealed, I want to inform everyone now that this will not affect this fic. This is an AU fic and will only be following canon loosely. Tobi's identity was set before the fic started months ago, only about a dozen Konoha mission/adventures and some important events and facts from/about certain Elemental Countries will be used. Most of what's happened in the manga, will NOT be used. This applies to the Stargate Universe as well. I shouldn't have to repeat this message, but there are some fans that insist on always pointing these things out to an author as if they're oblivious to these facts. Please don't bother, I'm aware of the current manga events and said so in chapter 1.

Editor's Note: Yeah, yeah... I know it's been a while since the last post. Go ahead and blame me, again. The Good News: I'm 99.8% finished with school. The Bad News: The job market... such is life. On the plus side, I'm a little less stressed, and have more time to write, and edit.

For me, chapter 12 is a BFD... due to story elements, and the OC's, 85% of this chapter flows from my pen... oops... keyboard. The Shadow Clan, and everything around it, is _my_ baby... I hope you enjoy their contribution to Mike's AU as much as he did. Part of the reason this chapter took so long (besides school) is that I wanted it to be worth waiting for... hence 75 pages of solid content, and a story worth reading. Enjoy it.

I'll make no promises, but I suspect the next chapter will appear _much_ quicker than this one. Once again, I ask all you new readers to consider leaving a review... thoughtful comments and observations are always welcome, and Mike needs a cookie.

x

===April 11, 4:45 PM, Yamanaka House===

Ino shut the front door, smiling happily. However, her day had started on a slightly depressing note, the dropping off pf all her personal gossip files to Tsunade at the Tower... at 6:30 in the damn morning.

Other than that, it had been an exceptional day, even considering everything that had happened recently, and was near the top of her 'interesting days' list. She walked down the short hallway into the main living room... and stopped dead in her tracks.

The reason... 2 people, quietly waiting for her. Her mother Inomi was in the big chair to the left of the couch on the far wall, and to her mother's left, standing next to the chair with his arms across his chest, her father Inoichi... and neither of them was smiling. Every alarm in Ino's head suddenly went off... her smile fell, then her shoulders... by force of will, Ino drew herself up and faced her parents.

Ino knew what this had to be about, she'd only been in trouble a few times in her life, but she had usually charmed her way past any dire punishment. However, this time she knew that gambit would fail pathetically. "Do I get a last meal before I turn in my kunoichi ID and get locked in my room until I'm 18?" Ino asked sadly, head tilted downward, eyes still forward.

"That's a good... oof!" Inoichi replied, then lost his breath when he was hit in the stomach.

"Don't you dare Inoichi." Inomi declared firmly, looking up at him with a frown.

Ino's head snapped up, restricting her surprise to her eyes.

"Couch... please." Inoichi pointed curtly and added a neutral glance at Inomi.

Ino immediately complied. "So I'm not in big trouble?" Ino asked hopefully after she sat down.

"I didn't say that." Inomi replied, hiding her smile when Ino pouted sadly. "You _are_ in trouble, but what we do depends on how our chat goes... so please be honest Ino-chan, and despite what Inoichi thinks, you're an adult now, so speak freely when answering our questions." Inomi gave her husband a side-ways glance. "And before you ask, yes... that means using those words." Inomi added and smiled when Inoichi sighed.

"Ino... I acknowledge that you're not a little girl anymore, and I'm going to do my best not to get angry... but do you _fully_ understand what you've done by misusing _that_ jutsu?" Inoichi asked.

Ino thought a moment before answering. "I think so... I created a variant of the Mind Transfer Jutsu."

Inoichi sighed, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples a moment. "Do you remember the rules I spent months drilling into you before I taught you the basic jutsu?" Ino nodded in reply. "Then tell me... why in Kami's name did you _ignore_ them and risk your life like that?" Inoichi stated, his voice rising at the end.

Ino flinched in fear, then her confusion showed. "What do you mean?"

Inoichi calmed his emotions, stepped up to Ino and kneeled. "Please understand, Princess... while I'm proud of your accomplishment and skills... there were important reasons behind those rules I taught you. Entering someone's mind, especially the way you do it, involves certain risks." Inoichi gripped his daughter's hands firmly. "The time limit, and how deep you go, especially with animals, is extremely dangerous for us."

"But some of the Clan use familiars... and they have a bond deeper than even the Inuzuka's." Ino replied.

Inoichi eased his grip on Ino's hands. "That's true, but to safely maintain that bond, they've all established a complex series of mental barriers to act as filters." He sharpened his gaze on her. "That's why I use all those special seals during a deep scan of a prisoner's mind. Without those seals, and my own mental barriers..."

Ino gasped, her hands shot up and covered her mouth. "Oh Kami... that's why..." Ino half whispered.

Inoichi subtly flinched, then stood up and glanced at Inomi as he walked to the window. He stared out the window, hands clasped together behind his back, and hoped neither of them could see the look on his face.

His work day had started normally enough, until he had been suddenly summoned to the Hokage's office. After giving her an update on his key projects, Tsunade gave him a briefing on Ino's activities, what it had uncovered... to his complete surprise. She confirmed what he has suspected for a while now... that his Princess had leapt head-first into premature adulthood, by the most perilous route imaginable... for a Yamanaka.

Learning that Ino had violated prescribed clan guidelines and teachings was bad enough. Then Inoichi learned that she had used an animal... a cat no less, as a vessel for spying within Konoha, and had maintained contact with the animal for extended periods of time, just added to the predicament. To say that Inoichi was conflicted would have been a monumental understatement. His pride at his daughter's skill and cleverness was over-shadowed by her reckless disregard for clan rules, and the potential consequences of her actions.

Inomi stood and moved to the couch, sitting to Ino's right and put her arm around her daughter. "Tell me what happened Ino-chan... don't hold anything back."

Inoichi steeled himself, raised all his mental defenses, and pushed aside 'the father' within... and prepared for the worst.

"I didn't see the harm in it, and I swear I never intended to go as far as I did. I started when I was 10. I stayed nearby at first, and never went over my limit, which was about 6 minutes before I felt myself start to slip, and then I'd immediately cancel the link." Ino said, pausing briefly.

"I'd plan my route and who I watched... then, by the time I was 11... the link became stronger." Ino paused and her eyes went to the floor. "And, the time I could maintain the link grew. Before I realized it, I found myself capable of prolonging the jutsu for well over an hour..." Ino fell silent as she heard her father groan.

Inoichi shook his head and frowned. '_Kami above, that's twice the safe limit._' Then Ino's words grabbed him; he leveled his gaze at Ino and asked, "How long _can_ you hold the link?" The long silence from Ino heightened his anxiety.

Ino looked up and met her father's eyes. "When I used Kensha... about an hour." The look on Inoichi's face, and his slumping back into his chair, filled Ino with dread. "Now, using her offspring, Tsukiyo, I'm able to sustain the link for over 2 hours."

Inoichi closed his eyes and wrestled with his daughter's predicament. By all rights, he should present this situation to the clan at large... going to the elders wasn't an opinion since none of them survived the Kyuubi's attack, and ask for their opinions on the matter. He knew there'd be no easy answer, Ino's actions, and her childish disregard for long-established rules demanded punishment. But, that course of action wouldn't solve what Ino had potentially done to herself.

Indeed, discovering what Ino had done, contrary to the conventional wisdom of what was possible, was every bit as important as getting Ino under a firm hand. All of this needed careful consideration, and evaluation, before any final judgement could be rendered. Inoichi nodded to himself, he had just the right person for the job... she could turn Ino around, and find the good in this awful mess.

Inomi watched her husband carefully and sensed his deliberation; she also knew what could befall their dearest daughter if hasty judgement, and ignorance carried the day... the sealing of her ability and ejection from the clan was the best scenario, she refused to dwell on the worst outcome.

Inomi kept her face neutral as she watched Inoichi stand up and silently leave the room. Her gaze shifted to Ino's stricken face as she watched him go. '_Time to be strong, Ino-chan._' Inomi took a silent breath and followed her own advice, it was better for all concerned that Inoichi wasn't present for her questions.

Inomi settled herself, folded her hands in her lap and asked, "I take it that your jutsu is the source of your wealth of... gossip." The sudden question had the desired effect... Ino focused on her, instead of the doorway Inoichi had left by.

Ino sensed a sternness behind the coy smile on her mother's face and knew evasiveness, and dissembling wasn't an option; she settled for nodding in agreement.

"I should have guessed as much." Inomi nodded to herself, then considered her next question. '_No sense in putting it off._' Inomi maintained her smile and asked, "So, how long have you been sexually active?"

Her mother's bluntness caught Ino off guard. "MOM!" Any further protest was cut short by the look her mother's face. Ino cleared her throat and settled in her chair. "If you're asking if I'm still a virgin, then the answer is yes."

Inomi smiled briefly and replied, "That much I was aware of." She cut off Ino's response with a wave. "I'm not blind dear, I've noticed the change in you for a while... but I've held my peace since it hasn't become obvious enough for... him to notice." Inomi pursed her lips in thought and added, "Please don't misunderstand dear, I realize that you're an adult now... your hitai-ite says as much, but this _has_ been going on well before you earned it. So, talk to me, and set my mind at ease."

Ino took a deep breath before replying. "Believe me when I say that it didn't start out as... gossip hunting. I remembered father's stories about using animals as scouts, and for spying, and I thought I could develop my own technique." Ino paused, stood up, and walked over to one of room's larger windows. "I wanted to prove my worth, and to stand out as a member of the clan..." Ino turned about and leaned against the windowsill. "...I wanted to be taken seriously."

Inomi shook her head sadly. "Ino, we've never thought lightly of you, or your skill as a Yamanaka. How could think otherwise?"

Ino's face turned thoughtful. "While it's true that you've never been anything less than supportive of me... when I started my experiment, all the stories I had heard about the heroes of our clan, revolved around the men of the clan..." Ino's eyes went to the floor.

Inomi sighed and replied. "I know that, but what you don't know is that many of the stories of the women of our clan are considered S-ranked secrets. While that may not seem fair, it was done for the good of the clan, and Konoha."

Ino's head jerked up. "Truly?"

Inomi smiled softly and nodded. "The Yamanaka women may not share the spotlight, but there have been _many_ important missions entrusted to them." She gave Ino a knowing look, and grinned as her daughter's eyes widened. "Yes, Ino-chan... I wasn't always a housewife, and a mother." Inomi waved Ino to silence. "And no, I'm not bitter over it. Silent pride is still a pride worth having."

"And just when would you have told me about... all this?" Ino asked in a quiet voice.

Inomi smiled sadly. "When we'd judged you were ready for access to the clan vault, in a few more years... but your actions have changed all that." She added silently, '_Perhaps sooner, now that all this has come to light._' "But that's not for me to say... not anymore."

Ino grimaced. "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

Inomi smiled with her eyes, but kept her face neutral. "Yes, and no." She let out a tiny smile at Ino's confusion. "You did use a clan jutsu for personal reasons, that is undeniable. However, you've also achieved what many would regard as improbable, and that does count for something." Inomi leaned forward and added. "Now, back to the matter at hand... or would you rather we wait for your father to return?"

Ino's eyes widened. "Ah... let's not." She glanced about and continued, "As I had said before, it started out as a harmless test of my ability. Then... I started to see things, adult things, and... I began to overhear conversations. Sometimes innocent comments, sometimes not so innocent."

Inomi stirred. "Such as?"

Ino took a deep breath before continuing. "People saying hurtful things about others... I couldn't tell you if it was true or not. And, people making deals, and... arrangements... for money, or favors."

Inomi kept a straight face. '_You were much too young to see that side of society._' "And what did you do with that information?"

"At first, I just noted it mentally. Then as I began to see, and hear more, I wrote it down and kept what I had learned in a secret place." Ino replied in a soft voice, then looked up. "Don't worry, I learned from a friend that some types of gossip can be _very_ dangerous to know."

Inomi nodded in agreement. "Yes... black gossip." She likewise lowered her voice. "I imagine that you learned some very... interesting things. I commend you for having the sense to keep such things close." Inomi nodded to herself. "And, I suspect, you began to spy on people's intimate moments as well." She gave Ino a knowing look; Ino flinched at her mother's characterization. Inomi shrugged and added, "Your curiosity was understandable enough... given the age you started. I won't ask for specifics, but I imagine you saw the usual things, and then some."

Ino nodded and replied, "Yeah... I got quite an eye-full. I guess I pretty much saw everything you could imagine."

Inomi frowned at that revelation. '_That's not good._' "I suppose so; how do you think it has affected you?" Inomi held her breath. Given her adventures as a kunoichi, and the types of missions she had been tasked to do, she had seen more than her fair share of depravity, and how dark the world could be.

Ino saw the watchfulness in her mother's eyes and thought carefully before replying. "I know what feels wrong, if you get my meaning, but I can say it's affected my tastes." Ino braced herself and continued. "My taste in men has definitely shifted to more... mature types." Ino waved her hand. "But don't worry, I'm not interested in Asuma-sensei."

Inomi nodded to herself. "That's good to hear. Otherwise there could be problems." '_Choza will be disappointed at that; he's always hinted that he'd entertain a match between Chouji and Ino._' She noted Ino's body-language and added, "I take it there's more... yes?"

"And an attraction... no, perhaps fascination is a better word, for female partners as well." Ino waved her hands. "Don't worry, I haven't seriously acted on any of this... but it does occupy my thoughts."

Inomi smiled for the first time since the subject was brought up. "Ah, personal fantasies." She gave Ino a coy look. "Don't fret about it dear, it's all perfectly natural." Inomi noted the silent reply on Ino's face. "Don't look shocked dear, I'm a woman too you know."

Ino gave her mother a wry look. "I got that part."

"And I know about your regular visits to the Iron Kimono... which I'm fine with. I'd rather have that, than a gaggle of lovers, _or_ getting into a bad relationship." Inomi replied, then added, "And no, your father doesn't know. You can thank Hotaru's strict policy of discretion for that."

Ino went wide-eyed. "Okay... I think."

Inomi smiled in reply. "At any rate, that's the least of your worries now." Her smile faded. "I suspect that I know what Inoichi has in mind. Please bear with him, remember that he loves you, even if he doesn't show it... for the moment." Inomi sighed. "Every father is reconciled to the fact that their daughters... grow up, and develop adult tastes and needs... but _not_ at your age. Let him work past that, don't do anything reckless, and for Kami's sake, be _discreet_." Inomi's face turned serious. "Can you at least promise me that much?"

Ino nodded. "Yes mother, I promise."

Inomi stood up. "Good. Now go to your room, wait for father to summon you, and accept whatever he has planned from this point on. I need to get some things for dinner so I'll be out for a bit." She walked over to Ino and gently kissed the top of Ino's head. "And don't forget, come and talk to me, anytime, if you need advice, or to vent. I promise I'll do my best to ease father's worries. Just do your part not to add any _more_ problems to the mix, for the moment."

Ino sat quietly as her mother left the room, then got up and headed upstairs. Pausing in front of her bedroom door, she thought, '_Well, that went better than I had hoped._'

===1 hour later===

Ino silently made her way downstairs, following her mother. She had spent the time waiting by ordering her thoughts, and calming her nerves. Given the fact that certain issues were now out of her hands, the only option left was to go with flow.

Pausing before the entrance to one of the private sitting rooms, Inomi turned, hugged Ino and kissed her on the forehead, then headed to the kitchen without comment. Ino swallowed quietly and entered. As expected, her father was within, and he wasn't alone. "Kouseki-obasama, what are you doing here?" She asked, half excited, half nervous. Kouseki Yamanaka was her favorite aunt, but as a Jonin and the former Sensei of Team 4, years ago, she had a fierce reputation.

"She's going to be... training you. I've decided that the best solution is a temporary apprenticeship with someone who can appreciate your singular talent." Inoichi explained with a slight, devious smile.

Ino paled in fear. "Couldn't you just beat my ass bloody and ground me for a couple years instead?"

Kouseki replied with an almost Anko-like sadistic smile. "And let you off easy... now why would he do that to a young kunoichi as talented and skilled as his Princess?"

Ino whimpered... even the hug her Mother had given her didn't help. She knew her Aunt Kouseki would make her strong, but getting there was going to seriously suck... and probably kill her social life for several months.

Kouseki patted the chair next to her. "Now then, let's have a nice chat about your future, Ino-chan... and some of the details concerning your little adventures inside Konoha."

===Sunday, April 13, 8:15 PM, Moscow===

Tom Rudman set down a dog-eared copy of his favorite Clancy novel, picked up his cell and looked at the caller ID. The display said... Unknown. He mulled over the idea of letting it go to voicemail, then keyed the talk button on the sixth ring; he kept most of his annoyance out of his voice. "I hope this is important."

"_I love you too, Tommy._" Ric's voice conveyed the smile he was wearing.

Rudman stiffened with surprise. He had toyed with the idea of calling his friend about the recent mayhem in Moscow, but decided to let it go until he learned more. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was Von Krieger coming back to Mother Russia with blood in his eyes. Telling him that his girlfriend had gone missing without solid info would have been bad news... for somebody. He managed the breeziest tone he could muster. "Hey sport, how's it going?"

"_Not too bad, all things considered. I've been keeping busy enough, and I've even managed to stay out of trouble for more than a whole month._"

Tom chuckled in reply. "That sounds like a new record."

"_Yeah, it's a shame it had to end._" Tom sensed the smile disappear. "_So... bring me up to date on things over there._"

There was a long pause as Rudman steeled himself. He kept his voice neutral. "There's an ongoing situation back here."

"_I'm aware of that, Tom._" Ric's cold, professional voice came through the cell. "_I need information, and Irina's not talking to me._"

"About that, I was meaning..." Then it hit him. "Waitaminute... what did you just say?"

"_Let's make this quick Tom. She's in the shower right now and I want this wrapped up pronto._"

"Whoa there partner, are you telling me she's okay, and with you?" Rudman sat up in his recliner. Moscow was still being turned upside down; Irina Lebed's face had been shown on the evening news an hour ago. "How did she..."

"_That's not important right now._" Rudman could almost see the cold look in Von Krieger's eyes via the tone in his voice. "_What is important is the truth behind the attempt to grab her. The story Irina gave me doesn't add up._" There was a brief pause. "_Talk to me Tommy._"

Rudman considered his options... lying wasn't one of them. "I'll send you a message, I prefer not to talk business over the phone, even this one."

There was a long pause. "_Alright, I'll buy that, for now._" The smile came back. "_By the way, what's the status on my stuff?_"

Rudman returned the smile. "It cleared a week ago. It should be en route and with you in a couple of weeks or so."

"_Good... and I need you to send the rest of the stuff I kept in my lockbox._"

Rudman smiled. "I can do that. By the way, where are you going to put everything?"

"_Don't worry, I'll think of something._" 

===April 12, Tanzaku-gai, Fire Nation===

"Haven't you had enough?" Itachi eyed the collection of empty sake bottles, then Kisame, who looked only mildly drunk.

Kisame snorted and refilled his over-sized sakazuki. "Hell no. I'm celebrating our freedom from that madhouse." He took a couple of noisy gulps and set the drinking saucer down. "I still can't believe it took me as long as it did to convince you to quit those losers."

Itachi took a sip from his more modest-sized cup. "Given your past opinions, it took me a while to decide that you were actually serious." His dark eyes scanned the nearly empty bar. "And you certainly didn't complain about the money."

Kisame waved his hand dismissively. "Hah! Money I can always get... one way or another. For me, it was always the opportunity for a good fight that kept me going."

Itachi sighed. "That's true. But there's more to life than fighting."

Kisame blinked in surprise. "Sez who?"

"Times change... our being here proves that." Itachi replied.

Kisame frowned and shook his head in disagreement. "The only thing that changed was Tobi going from flaky to totally unhinged... after he discovered that the fox brat had died." He lowered his voice. "I don't know about you, but after that last dust-up between Tobi and Pain, I was ready to leave... with, or without you."

Itachi nodded in understanding. As much as he wanted to uphold his mission to keep tabs on Akatsuki, getting caught between those two have been... hazardous, to say the least. He still had his contacts to feed him information, but staying alive was important too... he had his unsettled business with Sasuke to consider. Itachi set those thoughts aside and asked, "So what now?"

Kisame gave him a toothy grin. "I should ask you the same question. I don't mind hanging out with you, but you're a bit too thoughtful... that makes for less fighting." He poured himself another drink. "I could go back to Kiri, but that would mean picking a side." Kisame grimaced. "And it would mean settling down in one place, and I'm not sure if I'm okay with that." He took a drink and leaned back. "I suppose I could hang out with you a bit longer. Interesting things tend to happen around you."

Itachi smiled. "Ah... the truth comes out. I always thought you feared boredom more than any foe."

Kisame laughed. "Yup, that's my darkest secret..." He lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "...and if tell anybody that, I'll kill you." Kisame added a playful smile.

"I'll bear that in mind." Itachi replied with an equal smile.

===April 13, 10:00 PM, Gold Leaf Hotel, Suite 00===

Entering the secret basement Suite, reserved for private meetings such as this between the Clan Heads, he dispelled his Henge in front of everyone. "Fire doesn't burn the green Leaf."

"Exactly on time as usual, Inoichi." Shikaku observed with a tired smile.

"Couldn't be helped, I had a few..." Inoichi glanced at his ever torpid teammate. "...very troublesome days."

Tsume gave him a feral smirk. "Princess problems I'll wager. I've heard tell that she even smells different." Tsume added, then started laughing.

Inoichi glared at Tsume, who just smiled back. "Let's get started." He said then moved to the large table and took his seat, the few not at the table already, joined him; he put his right hand on the table and nodded to the group.

"SEAL!" The 6 Clan heads stated as one, and pumped chakra into the table. A large seal appeared, followed by a loud _whoosh_, signifying that the room was sealed.

With one of the strongest Sound and Security Seals in Konoha activated, Hiashi started. "Before I meet with the Elders tomorrow, I must know which of your children are going and why."

"I understand the seriousness, and the implications of this meeting... but dammit Hiashi, do you have to suck all the fun out of it?" Tsume asked with a sigh.

Choza laughed briefly. "I agree with Tsume, this isn't a council meeting Hiashi... try to relax a little, we're here as parents and Clan Heads, nothing more. As to Chouji, while I'm very proud of him, and he's gotten stronger since the Invasion and battle with that Sound nin... he's not ready, and I'm sad to say not needed, for the mission through the 'gate."

Shikaku lit a cigarette and leaned forward."I could say the same for Shikamaru, but I won't. He's worked harder than any Nara I can think of... including me. Few in Konoha have put more effort into understanding the Stargate than him, for that fact alone, Shikamaru deserves to go." He tapped some ash off his cigarette and looked at everyone. Shikaku declared, "I feel he's more than ready, and must go. He can learn much about them, and their weapons."

Tsume snorted and shrugged. "If that's the case, then you may as well send that clan-less girl as well."

Shikaku poked at Tsume with his cigarette. "Don't underestimate the Haruno girl... while she may not be as smart as Shika, the only reason, as I understand it, that she's not being considered is that the Hokage wants somebody left in Konoha who has an actual _clue_ about the Stargate." Shikaku took a drag on his smoke and launched a cloud at Tsume... who sneezed, then growled at him... Shikaku smiled back. '_That's for that nasty crack about Ino-chan._'

Inoichi sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it... Ino is going for different reasons. When the Hokage goes through the 'gate, Shizune will be staying behind to cover for her absence; Ino will be assuming her role. While I hope that Ino can learn something by going, Tsunade-sama has strictly forbidden the use of any jutsus to gather information; she's concerned that our new allies might regard such activities as... impolite."

"Feh." Tsume scowled at that bit of news, then weighed in, "While I don't doubt the skills, or intelligence of Shikamaru and Ino... there are things only an Inuzuka can learn about these people, and for that reason alone, I'm sending Kiba and Akamaru. If anyone doubts his skills speak up now..." Tsume declared fiercely, then cracked her neck. "...and be prepared to back it up." Tsume bared her large fangs for emphasis.

"Please relax Tsume-san, no one doubts your son, or mine, but I feel Shino's presence is not needed, and our clan's... unique abilities, may cause problems. I will not risk my son or his hive when others can accomplish the mission with less risk." Shibi stated in the usual monotone voice his clan is known for.

Tsume smiled and dropped her aggressive posture. "That's the most I've heard you say in... 8 months."

"Agreed." Shikaku added tiredly.

Hiashi nodded and thought a few moments before adding his views. "While Neji is ready for such a mission, I can not send him. As a Cadet Branch member the Elders would _never_ allow it... but I believe I have another choice, a Main Branch member and Jonin of high standing within the Clan, and Konoha."

"Who is it?" Shikaku asked.

"I'd prefer not to say until after I speak to the Elders." Hiashi replied.

"Kiba misses Hinata a lot... we Inuzuka don't like having our pack broken up." Tsume said then locked a fierce glare on Hiashi that spoke volumes about her emotional state. "But as much as we want our pack whole again... nothing upsets us more than finding out our lost member found happiness with another pack, and was forced to leave..." Tsume stood, her emotions just below the surface and very obvious. "And that they were hurt..." Tsume added with cold rage, then drew her clawed fingers lightly across her throat and snapped it closed into a fist.

The room went silent at Tsume's declaration.

Hiashi wasn't a man that intimidated easily, but he understood Tsume's silent message clearly... and while she was well known for her temper, she rarely threatened to actually kill someone. If she did, regardless of who you were, you took it seriously. Even for the Hyuuga Elders, Tsume Inuzuka was a serious threat in her own right. Luckily, he'd recently learned some new information about his oldest daughter... and he had to admit, about himself, in a recent private meeting with Tsunade.

"There's no need for that level of concern Tsume... if you wish to discuss it, I'll talk with you tomorrow." Hiashi replied calmly, at least on the outside; if she thought he was lying, rules or not, she would attack.

Tsume inhaled deeply through her nose, her gaze locked on Hiashi, scanning him for signs of deception... her eyes and nose told her the same thing. "I believe you... and I'll see you tomorrow. I'll decide when and where."

Hiashi nodded in reply, then relaxed after she sat down and eased off on her display of aggression.

'_Looks like I have an ally if the Hyuuga's try anything._' Shikaku thought. "Well, now that the floor show is over, is there any further to add before we go on to the next item?"

"We'll also need a cover story in case anyone becomes curious as to why several prominent clan heirs have disappeared for several days." Inoichi suggested.

"I knew I could count on you to kick me while I was down, Inoichi... you bastard." Shikaku replied with a tired glare.

"Anytime, after the week I've had, I needed it." Inoichi responded with a smile.

Shikaku rubbed his face on carried on. "While it's beyond troublesome to even think about it, we need to discuss the implications of the man named Ric, and his potential connection to the Shadow Clan of his world." Shikaku said, his stomach twisting in a knot.

The room went deathly quiet. Even Tsume had an almost submissive look on her face. Hiashi slumped in his chair and sighed... his reaction was not lost on the others. Not that they were doing any better.

"Did everyone have a private meeting with Tsunade?" Inoichi asked. He noted the subtle reaction on everyone's faces and sighed. "So it wasn't just me then."

"I couldn't find anything in our records about a Shadow Clan." Hiashi replied honestly. It was barely a half-truth, mainly because he was afraid to check the Hyuuga's own Ancient Scroll... the very sight of it chilled him, like some deeply repressed nightmare from his childhood. What Tsunade had said in their meeting about Von Krieger's chakra had touched something deep in his memory... it truly frightened him and he didn't know why.

Shikaku didn't even so much as twitch at Hiashi's statement, but his gut screamed 'bullshit'. But, he couldn't sense any deceit in Hiashi's words; and, since Tsume didn't react as well... it had to be the truth... after a fashion. That being said, what he had read in the Nara's Ancient Scroll, contradicted Hiashi's declaration. '_Either Hiashi is better at hiding his feelings than I thought, or he doesn't know his clan's full history_.' Shikaku frowned on the inside. '_I am not leaving it at that... perhaps I need to approach someone else in the Hyuuga Clan._' Keeping a straight face, he turned to next person at the table. "Go ahead Tsume."

Tsume nodded, and took a breath. For only the fourth time in her life, she had opened the Inuzuka's Ancient Scroll, the previous time as Clan head. For this task, Tsume looked into a portion of the scroll that she had never ventured into... a segment of the clan's past that was left undiscussed. She'd found several things concerning the Shadow Clan, some of it shocking her to her very core.

Unfortunately, if she wanted to keep her position as Clan Head... and her life, she couldn't tell anyone what she had learned. Her only other option was almost as dangerous for her... going to Tsunade.

Carefully controlling her emotions, Tsume let out a soft breath, her pride demanded she outdo Hiashi, she found 2 things that she could reveal to them. "Unlike old stone face, I have some useful information. It may not be helpful at this moment... but we have something in common with the Hyuuga Clan." Tsume said and noted everyone's reaction, especially Hiashi's. "Our clan's founder was also a female."

"And she stepped down as Clan Head before Konoha was founded." Shikaku guessed aloud with a slight nod. It was common knowledge who the Clan heads were when Konoha was founded, or when they joined Konoha, but not much before that. Shikaku hid his reaction, but that small fact filled in several missing pieces to what he'd found, one of the biggest being a connection between the Inuzuka... and a certain member of the Shadow Clan.

"There's something else I just dug up... there were several mentions of members of the Shadow Clan using what we'd call B-rank, possibly even A-Rank Elemental Jutsus... without hand seals." Tsume said, hiding her true feelings.

All eyes widened at Tsume's statement... everyone knew that Nara's were incapable of using Elemental chakra, that was the price they had paid for their mastery over shadows. A shinobi capable of both would be a fearsome opponent.

'_Kakashi was right. It's time I watched Naruto's matches, then have a private talk with Kakashi. If I knew Naruto better, and how he thinks, it'd help me understand this man, Ric, before our inevitable meeting._' Shikaku thought.

Choza sat up in his chair. "I could only find one thing of any value. Our Clan's Founder was a highly regarded mediator, as well as a powerful fighter. There's a mention of a power struggle within their main family that hinted of a possible split, or formation of a Cadet Branch similar to the Hyuuga's... but there was no follow-up in our clan records as to what came of that."

Shikaku's stomach twisted, he knew what happened. One of the results was the creation of the Nara Clan.

Everyone else nodded, processing that information.

Inoichi frowned thoughtfully, then weighed in with his information. "I don't even have that much to contribute. The pre-Konoha Yamanaka's stayed mostly to themselves it seems." While true, his statement barely applied to the Shadow Clan. To his surprise, he had discovered a subtle commentary on a sporadic trend... female clan members eloping with Shadow Clan men. And, even more shocking, a small number of Yamanaka men willingly leaving the clan to be with Shadow Clan women. And least of all, sharing what he'd discovered about the origin of the Yamanaka Clan, with _anyone_. Ino was far closer to being a true Yamanaka than he cared to admit, even to himself.

After Inoichi finished, all eyes turned to Shibi, who shifted in his chair before adding his information. "Any mention of the Shadow Clan in our scroll is limited, mostly to comments in passing... and a few warnings." Shibi fidgeted before continuing. "Our fore-bearers cautioned their clan members to avoid conflict, and _any_ association, with the Shadow Clan, whenever possible. It was written that they were deadly foes, and dangerous friends... many of other clans envied their power, considerable wealth, and feared them. Anyone, and any clan, associated with them, was regarded as an enemy by those clans hostile to the shadow-users."

Shibi's information quietly struck home with those at the table that had held back what they had learned from their own investigations. He added a final tidbit, "One of the few specific points in our scroll concerning that clan was this: guard your women in their presence."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean they kidnapped the women of other clans?" All at the table understood the motive behind his question; the Hyuuga Clan was justifiably on-guard against such an event.

"No." Shibi firmly replied. "We have no record of that _ever_ being acceptable behavior within their clan." He added silently, '_And by all accounts, they had no need for such tactics._' "My understanding of the scroll's admonition leaned towards keeping an eye on, rather than securing them."

"That just leaves the Uchiha, which will remain an unknown, until we can find their Clan Vault... and the Senju's. Which means someone has to confront Tsunade." Shikaku said, then glanced around at his fellow clan Heads. He groaned aloud at he look they were all giving him. "I hate all of you." Shikaku announced, then crossed his arms on the tale and put his head down.

Inoichi smiled at his friend. "If that's everything, then I suggest we declare the meeting at an end."

Shikaku raised his head. "If I'm the lucky bastard that has to confront Tsunade, I expect proper compensation for risking her wrath... and her fists. The first night that everyone is free, my house at 8:00, I'll be hosting a Cho-Han tournament, so bring your wallets. And, bring something top-shelf... drinkable or eatable, without fail." Shikaku rested his chin on his hands and smiled. "Shit, if we're going to get new neighbors, we'll need a practice welcoming party."

Choza let out merry laugh. "That's the proper spirit, old friend.

"Yoshino-chan has to make those beef dumplings!" Tsume requested passionately.

"Done." Shikaku replied.

"I'll be there, just tell me when." Tsume stated with a toothy smile.

===Monday, April 14, 7:20 AM, Gymnasium B, SGC===

Jeri walked into the gym and grinned... Naruto had arrived early, as he had suspected. He stood quietly and watched Naruto sparing with a clone. After watching for a few minutes, Jeri shook his head and clapped his hands together. "Okay Naruto, that'll be quite enough." He walked towards Naruto and added. "Starting today, you'll be learning how to fight... properly."

Naruto dispelled the clone and turned with a foxy grin. "Hai, Jeri-sensei." He began bouncing on the balls of his feet. "So, what do I learn first? Something really awesome, right?"

Jeri returned the grin and replied, "First off, the basics." He ignored Naruto's groan of dismay as he seemingly deflated. "Secondly, to calm down... and _listen_ to what I'm going to say." Jeri pointed at the mat. "Have a seat, son." To his credit, Naruto complied without grumbling; Jeri sat down in front of him and crossed his legs.

Naruto silently looked his sensei over. He sorta recognized the white outfit he was wearing, but not the black belt, with 8 stripes, nor the embroidered patch sewn over his heart. He especially noted the thoughtful look on his sensei's face... and his silence. Naruto pushed aside his eagerness and waited.

After a long moment of silence, Jeri spoke. "I know I promised to teach you a while back, and I'm sorry it's taken this long for us to start. Part of the problem for me was... is, making sure that what you learn will be useful to you, as a ninja." Naruto nodded and held his tongue; he had been pestering Jeri to begin teaching him for a few weeks now. "As I see it, understanding you better, and what's considered a normal combat situation for you, is the key."

Naruto saw the truth in that and nodded. Jeri continued, "The other big issue was integrating your ability to walk on walls and ceilings into what I know, and how that can be turned to your advantage. Now then, my problem is that I don't know those skills yet, so I'll be relying on you to help me."

Naruto nodded eagerly. "I'll do my best, Jeri-sensei. If you want, I can try to teach you how to do it as well."

Jeri smiled agreeably. "I appreciate the offer Naruto, but I think it's better that I learn alongside everybody else... that being said, I'll still listen to what you have to say, and do my best to understand the technique. I also thought about your Shadow Clone jutsu, and how I can use that to your advantage. Now, if I recall correctly, Dr. Fraiser said she was going to investigate that jutsu, and how it affected your ability to learn."

Naruto nodded and replied, "Fraiser-sensei said that the..." He paused to pick the right words. "...information transfer seems to be 100%, as long as I'm fully focused."

Jeri nodded and replied, "Good, that'll make things _much_ easier for me. Now then, here's how we're gonna do it; I want you to make 7 clones..." He held up his hand to halt Naruto when he saw him start to make the hand sign. "...but not just yet. Okay, now this part is important, what you're gonna do is make a circle around me with all 8 of you, equally spaced. Each clone is going to pay attention to _one_ particular aspect of my kata as I demonstrate it to you."

Jeri paused and lightly poked Naruto's forehand. "Everything you'll see is critical; my stance, how my feet, hips, and shoulders are set; _everything_ I do. I'll repeat the kata several times, with each clone focusing on their assigned portion. After that, you'll disperse the clones; gather up what they saw; visualize it all in your head, and then you'll demonstrate it to me. Do you have any questions?"

Naruto sat quietly and thought through Jeri's instructions. "What happens after I learn the kata?"

Jeri grinned and replied, "Well, when I think you're ready, you'll make 7 clones again and then all of you will repeat the kata with me observing, I'll watch for any mistakes, correct them on the spot, and when I think you're good to go, you'll dispel those clones, and meditate on the kata. After that, you'll be tested on it before we start the next training session. From there you'll learn the next higher kata, and some additional techniques."

Jeri ticked off additional points with his fingers. "What you'll be learning, just so we're clear about it, is the Shindo jinen-ryu branch of Shotokan karate. That particular version is an integration of karate, aikido, jujutsu, and later on... kendo."

Naruto's eyes lit up and his trademark foxy smile reappeared. "I get to learn how to use a sword?" Jeri watched Naruto begin to bubble over again.

"Sorta... I like I said, that's later, _much_ later." A pout appeared on Naruto's face. "Besides, without going into too much detail right now, once you get further into the training, you'll see that some the techniques y'or gonna learn are akin to kendo, and weapons strikes, but with an empty hand."

Jeri softly chuckled at the confused look on Naruto's face. "Just trust me on this son. With, or without weapons, the principles are the same; and, as you learn how to strike... you'll also be learning how to _defend against_ those types of attacks.

"It sounds like there's a lot of different things to learn." Naruto had a focused frown on his face.

Jeri nodded. "Yup, there is. But I think you can do it, and with your clones helping... I think you'll do just fine. All I need you to do is pay attention; be willing to put in the effort to learn everything I can teach you; and, most importantly, your input from a ninja's point of view."

Jeri's tone turned serious, "If something I'm teaching you doesn't make sense, or is impractical from your point of view, tell me about it, and show me what your experience has taught you. There's no point in me teaching you something that won't work, or worse... work _against_ you." Jeri smiled at the thoughtful look on Naruto's face. "Can you do this for me?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Hai, Jeri-sensei."

"Good." Jeri stood up and motioned Naruto to do likewise. "Now, before we start, we'll do some warm-ups together, then we'll go through the kihon... the basics. That'll consist of: form, power and speed, concentration and relaxation of power, rhythm and timing, your hip movement, and your breathing. That's what we'll be doing today, at the start of every session, and I recommend, every moment you have some free time until you can do it all _without_ thinking about it. Once you have the kihon down solid, everything else will fall into place. Understood?"

Naruto grinned and came to attention. "Yes Sensei!"

Jeri nodded and pointed to a spot on the mat. "Excellent. Let's get started."

===April 12, 8:00 AM, KSC, Gate Room==

"You're on time... which means the Hospital is full of happy nurses." Tsunade said with a smile.

Jiraiya recalled the face, and body of the nurse had given a card to... '_I can think of at least one nurse that'll be very happy soon enough._' ...and chuckled; he responded to Tsunade's comment with a sly smile.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, wondering at his response. '_He's been up to no good, again._' "What's so amusing, I was expecting one of your typically lame comebacks."

Jiraiya assumed an air of injured innocence. "Oh nothing, I'm just in a good mood after a pleasant breakfast with a beautiful lady."

Tsunade leaned towards Jiraiya and sniffed... she detected the distinctive scent of Ichiraku's miso on his breath; she replied, "Ayame doesn't count since she works there... so who'd get within arm's reach of an old pervert like you?"

Jiraiya just smiled at Tsunade and glanced to his left.

Tsunade's eyes widened as she tracked his gaze... Sakura was smiling nervously at her. "As long as eating and talking was all you did..." Tsunade stated calmly, noting Sakura's nod. "Then I don't want to know." She added gruffly, "What I do want to know is info about those seals, and what you saw... I waited 3 days for this, and I'm getting tired of waiting."

Jiraiya saw her Hokage face appear and sighed. "Okay, I've had my fun, let's get down to business." He replied, headed for the nearest chair and sat down. Jiraiya assumed his best professional air as he organized his notes... Jiraiya concealed his amusement as he noted an eager Shiho hovering in the background. '_Now there's a bright young lady... it's a shame that she hides her looks behind those odd glasses of hers._'

Tsunade assumed her Hokage stance, arms crossed over her huge bust. "I know they were Senjutsu Seals, and the Sages placed them, that much we figured out. What we don't know is why, and which Sage had a hand in it."

Jiraiya shrugged and replied, "I'm not surprised, those seals were almost over my head... I've never seen seals that powerful, nor that complex before. Add to that the fact they were Senjutsu Seals, something few understand, let alone create... just confirms how powerful they were."

Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. "I felt like an apprentice as I was trying to figure them out. Each matrix had layers within layers, it was so complex that even ol' snake face would have been dumbstruck. The 3 of us together couldn't of broken that seal by force."

Tsunade's eyebrows went up. "Damn... coming from anyone else, I wouldn't of believed it. Do you know who and why?"

Jiraiya lowered his voice. "If I'm right... the who, was Akarumu. My personal information on her is that she was special, even for a Sage. I succeeded in negating the seals only because I reasoned out the sequence of the wards, and the power source for the seals... that was the key to the seals." Jiraiya covertly glanced at the DHD pedestal.

Jiraiya looked up from his notes. "After I finally managed to neutralize the seal, I saw her and Kuusai, she spoke to me... before I passed out. And after that, while I was hospitalized, I had a dream involving Akarumu and Kuusai, a dream so vivid that it had to have been an implanted memory." Jiraiya took a deep breath and continued. "It is my opinion that she placed those seals on the Stargate; and, that she's the source of the vivid dream I had."

Tsunade asked, after a long moment of thoughtful silence, "Which brings us to the question of _why_... not to mention the fact that she knew about the Stargate, how to use it. and... deliberately chose to disable it."

Tsunade's thoughts turned to Hammond's letters detailing SGC's ongoing struggle with the System Lords, and the vague details concerning that conflict... not that she blamed him, or resented his withholding the details. She silently considered the past, '_Here we are, barely 2 generations after a war that inflicted damage that we've only recently recovered from, the attack by the Kyuubi aside... and the effects of that attack were probably worse that the war itself._'

Tsunade looked at the Stargate, standing at the center of the chamber. '_And now... we've about to open relations with someone fighting a war that spans across the stars in the sky._' She closed her eyes and sighed. '_If it weren't for Naruto, I'd order the damn thing be buried and forgotten... no, it's too late for that, we either get in front of this mess, or get swallowed up by it... hiding won't save us, that's the reality we have to face._' Tsunade opened her eyes and stared at the 'gate, and nodded. '_We'll get through this, somehow._'

Jiraiya quietly watched his old friend, and the fount of his unrequited love, as she stood there apart and alone, looking at the alien ring. And, not for the first time, nor the last, was shamefully glad that he wasn't the one wearing the Hokage's hat. '_She has the weight of all Konoha..._" He glance at the Stargate. '_No, forget that... the weight of the whole of our world on her shoulders._'

Jiraiya openly sighed as he watched her silently grapple with it all. He stood up, went to her side, and whispered, "I won't fail you, Tsu-chan. You're not alone... never think that you're alone."

Tsunade smiled and replied quietly, "I'm a horrible friend... you deserve better than I'm willing give you."

Jiraiya grinned and gave her hand a squeeze. "That's okay, the fringe benefits make up for it."

Tsunade chuckled and shook her head. "I guess so." She glanced behind her. "Enough with the pity party... everybody's staring at us." She raised her voice and added. "So, any thoughts on how Akarumu figures into all of this?"

Jiraiya gave her a tiny grin and replied loudly, "Nope. I haven't a fucking clue... but I'll think of something." As they both turned about walked away from the Stargate, Jiraiya continued in a low voice, "I'm hoping that the dream-memory I had in the hospital will continue at some point... I'll let you know if it starts making more sense to me. What are you going to do now that the Stargate is unsealed?"

Tsunade waited until they were several feet away from Sakura and Shiho before replying. "Sakura-kun, is everything in good order?" She added in a lower voice. "Do that, I'd like to get at least one puzzle solved."

Sakura bowed and replied, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Good." She looked at Jiraiya. "I'll need Gamakichi summoned so I can let Shogun know that we're ready on our end." '_I need to let everybody know... we need to make the right impression when our guests arrive._'

Tsunade raised her voice and added, "Make sure this place is clean and orderly; I don't want people from another world thinking we're a bunch of sloppy, scatter-brained Genins... we've got company coming."

Everyone present replied loudly, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

===April 14, 11:30 AM, Team 1 Ready Room, SGC===

Jack walked in and looked about. "Hey, where is everybody?"

Daniel looked up from his copy of Twilight Watch, in the original Russian, and replied, "Hmm... Sam took Irina to see Dr. Fraiser, she wanted to do a full med evaluation on Captain Lebed; I believe they took Hinata with them. After that, Sam was going to take her over to supply... clothing and gear I'm guessing."

Daniel frowned in thought and added, "I believe Jeri is still with Naruto, something about training; I have absolutely no idea where Ric is. Teal'c went to lunch a couple of minutes ago... I'm about to head down myself." He closed the book and set it aside. "Why? Is something going down?"

Jack scratched his ear and replied, "Yeah, we've a meeting with the boss in 2 hours. The General wants a briefing on what happened at the airport, and he's got..." Jack suddenly paused. "...ah, and some other stuff after that."

Daniel cocked an eyebrow. "Other stuff?" Jack simply nodded in reply. Daniel sighed and asked, "So, do you want to get lunch?"

Jack grinned. "Absolutely. They've got cake for dessert today."

===April 14, 12:50 PM, Conference Room C, SGC===

Hammond looked up from his memo pad. "Oh good, you got my message. Come on in... and please shut the door behind you." He motioned for Ric and Jeri to take a seat.

The pair of Green Beret operators exchanged glances as they sat down. Ric took the lead and spoke first. "I take it that the regular meeting is still on?"

"Yes it is. However, I have a matter to discuss with you two before everyone shows up." Hammond folded his hands in front of him. "I'll cut to the chase; I have an offer for you." He noted the cool, neutral stares fixed on him. '_Why do I think they've read my mind?_' "I'm going to send a military advisor team to Konoha... I want to know if you'd be interested in taking the assignment." He watched Hayes lean back in his chair; Von Krieger gave him a small, cold smile.

"I was wondering how long it would take for this to surface." Ric replied and leaned forward.

'_Jack was right, these two are nobody's fools._' Hammond cleared his throat. "Well, that makes it easier. I presume you've already debated the matter."

Ric's smile widened, but didn't grow any warmer. "We have; however, since the exact details were unknown, we didn't bother discussing it beyond a certain level."

"Prudent enough I suppose." Hammond replied.

Ric asked, "What are the parameters?"

Hammond pulled a folder out from beneath his memo pad and opened it. "First off, you should know that we have a full, formal agreement with Konoha with all the standard clauses... a status of forces agreement, and we modeled the all the other elements from a typical SOG mission document." Hammond smiled as noticed both the men relax for the first time.

Jeri spoke up. "So who's all go'n on this picnic?"

"Just the two of you." Hammond stiffened as his reply was met with cold, hard stares, and a re-elevation of the tension level.

"That sir, will _not_ do. Not at all." Ric replied and added, "With all due respect, General, I don't know who dreamed this up, but whoever thought that just 2 people... even if they're Green Berets, could handle a mission of this complexity, _and_ potential importance... left their brains in the bathroom."

Jeri grumbled, "And they had to flush twice."

Ric raised his hand to forestall any response from Hammond. "A mission of this depth, and importance, typically requires no less than a full A team. In fact, a job of this scope has a full, in-theater, S1 through 4 staff tasked for it as well... _especially_ if you're planning on transferring weapons and technology to Konoha."

Hammond silently sighed. '_I said as much. I guess it's time to play one of my better trump cards. _' "Believe me, Colonel Von Krieger, I understand completely, but I didn't have the final say on the matter."

Ric paused before replying. '_Hmm... somebody sweetened the pot to get me to bite on this deal._' He gave Hammond an appraising look. "I take it that the General did not just misspeak."

Hammond smiled warmly. "That is correct." He pulled out a pair of documents and slid them towards Ric and Jeri. "Both you, and Sergeant Major Hayes have received promotions in line with this mission's importance. The authorizing signature should speak for itself, and the ranks take effect as of this date; my sincere congratulations to both of you."

Ric and Jeri replied in unison, "Thank you, sir." Ric's eyes flicked to the promotion order. '_Hmm... O-6... that's some prime cheese... for one big, very dangerous mission._'

Both men looked over their documents. Jeri rubbed his chin and grinned. "Well heck, he's got my vote for the next election... not that my vote can be bought, mind you." As Jeri looked over his promotion orders, he remembered something the General had said. He looked up and asked, "Beg'n yor pardon General, but do you have the mission authorization with you?"

Hammond blinked in surprise. "Yes I do."

"May I look at it sir?" Jeri asked.

Hammond passed the document over and Hayes snapped it up. Hammond watched silently as Hayes leafed through it, with Von Krieger glancing at it as well. After about a minute, he saw both men grin like a pair of mischievous schoolboys as Hayes tapped the papers with his forefinger, then passed it over to Von Krieger.

Ric glanced at it again before speaking. "I believe we have a solution to our problem, General." He added silently, '_...and mine. This is the loophole for bringing Irina with us._'

Hammond raised an eyebrow. "How's that, Colonel?"

Ric let out a sly grin. "You had mentioned that this agreement was crafted using SOG guidelines. There's a clause right here that says that the officer-in-charge is authorized to... 'obtain such materials and assistance as needed to fulfill the mission'."

Ric and Jeri exchanged nods of agreement before he continued. "While I'm not authorized an _official_ staff, and support personnel as part of my... baggage train, this clause permits me to recruit volunteers to assist me in the conduct of my mission, with appropriate rates of pay, of course."

Hammond looked openly curious. "Are you certain about that, Colonel?"

Ric grinned and nodded. "Sir, we've been working with SOG guidelines for _years_... this a standard catch-all that SOG got in writing to circumvent meddling by less knowledgeable... authorities outside of the SOG."

Ric passed the agreement back. "I've danced this dance before, and this man here..." Ric hooked a thumb at Jeri. "...has personally drafted agreements like this one." Ric gave Hammond a knowing look. "As long as I don't raise my own personal horde, no one will say diddly squat about it."

Jeri added, "The clause, in it's typical use, allows SpecOps teams to recruit amongst the local population, and enter into agreements with contractors and vendors, local or otherwise, to support an ongoing mission. The later part can be critical if your operating outside of a logistics and support chain."

Hammond frowned at that. "But you will have a logistics and support chain, everything you'll need can, and will, be sent through the Stargate. You have my word on that."

"We appreciate that promise, sir." Jeri replied. "But an important part of the equation _is_ the in-country team, which is kinda thin in my professional opinion. Just sending us beans and bullets _won't_ guarantee success... I've spent a fair amount of time talking to Naruto about Konoha, and how their country figures into the whole power dynamic. What we'll be walking into will be a twisted mess... a whole passel of enemies outside the wire, and potential enemies on the inside."

Jeri noted the look on General Hammond's face. "Don't sell the boy short, General; he's a lot smarter than he lets on, and he's anything but a green operator; he even has friends outside of Konoha." Ric nodded in agreement. Jeri added, "Bottom line, there's a big stack of hats to be worn on this job; we're gonna need a few more heads to wear them if you want this to succeed."

Ric pointed at the papers. "As long as I don't exceed my budget by a certain percent, and fully document my recruiting and hires, I'm good to go."

Hammond nodded. "I see. Well, since you've done this before, I'll defer to your experience concerning this matter. It's obvious that both of you have done some thinking, and planning... and want this to succeed." Hammond gathered up the documents and added, "Gentlemen, as of this point your mission will be referred to by its code name: Project Skylark."

Ric smiled in reply. "Fine by us. I trust you won't object if I poach a few of your people to get the ball rolling?"

Hammond gave Ric a wary eye. "If it's within reason, no."

Jeri pulled out a small notebook and pen. "When are we scheduled to transfer to Konoha?"

Hammond openly sighed. "That's a good question. To the best of my knowledge, Konoha had an issue with their Stargate. I've been reassured that the matter's been dealt with, but I've gotten no further details from the Hokage." He watched Hayes and Von Krieger exchange frowns. "It's my intention to test the gate address before we open a full line of communications with them. I was planning to bring the matter up in the meeting, and ask for volunteers."

Ric asked, "Are Naruto and Hinata going to be present when you bring this up?" Hammond nodded yes. "Hmm... that could be a problem."

"How so? To the best of my knowledge, they're both quite happy here." Hammond replied.

Jeri spoke up. "That's true enough, but I also know they're both got a touch of homesickness as well, even if they won't admit it to themselves out loud."

Ric added, "And there's something bothering Hinata; she won't go into specifics, but I'm guessing it's family-related." Rick rubbed his chin. "I'm not suggesting that they want to return to Konoha, but I strongly suspect that they wouldn't mind visiting."

Hammond frowned. "That could be a problem."

Jeri studied the look on Hammond's face. "No disrespect, sir... but is there something we need to know about... something that could bite us in the ass?"

Hammond paused before replying. "There's a particular issue concerning Naruto. The Hokage told me that he's been officially declared dead, and his records sealed." The looks on Jeri and Ric's faces made him shift in his chair. "For reasons unknown to me, Naruto is, or was, being hunted by a powerful criminal organization named Akatsuki... and they've made a few attempts to abduct him."

Ric wrote down the name. '_That means dawn... that doesn't sound like a criminal gang to me._' "Alrighty, my first official act as the advisory team commander, is to request all available details concerning this group. And, I'm volunteering for the mission to test the gate address."

Hammond scribbled a few notes on his memo pad. "So noted, Colonel."

Ric turned to Jeri. "As much as I want you to go with me, Jeri... I need you to run a diversionary op."

Jeri immediately grasped his boss's plan. "Right, I'll think of something fun."

Hammond raised an eyebrow. "Care to inform me, Colonel?"

Ric gave Hammond a sly smile. "If we're going to keep this a secret from a pair of ninjas, then the gate test _can't_ be discussed in the open; and, Naruto and Hinata shouldn't be present when the op goes down." Ric turned to Jeri. "Any ideas?"

Jeri put on a thoughtful look and after a long moment replied. "Do you remember Ted Spears?"

Ric grinned. "Teddy? Yeah, he's quite a character."

Jeri grinned. "Teddy transferred the 10th."

"Hmm... that could work out quite nicely." Ric turned to Hammond. "The 10th Group is stationed at Ft. Carson... they could put on a first-rate dog-and-pony show for Naruto and Hinata."

Jeri's grin widened. "Yup. And it would be the perfect chance to get some special training in for both of them, especially Naruto."

Hammond asked cautiously, "Like what, Sergeant Major Hayes?"

Jeri grinned. "Well, I promised Naruto that I'd show him modern demolitions."

Hammond turned pale. "You're going to mix Naruto and C-4?"

Ric wagged his finger. "Now, now, General. Jeri is one of the best explosives men I know. I quite sure he can teach Naruto properly,..." He gave Jeri a sideways glance. "...right?"

Jeri smiled reassuringly. "You can count on me, sirs."

Ric repeated the smile. "There you go, General. That's good enough for me."

Hammond swallowed nervously. "Just keep it _outside_ SGC... understood?"

Jeri nodded. "Yes sir."

Hammond reordered the papers in front of him. "Well, now that all that has been dealt with,..." He glanced at the clock. "...we're ready for the main meeting."

Ric looked at his hands and thought, '_I wonder if I should tell him that Irina is coming with me?_' He glanced up at Hammond. '_Nah, one surprise at a time... besides, there's no telling what Hinata is going to say about the event at the airport. And... I'm not sure he's ready to know about Federov... yet._' "If it's all the same to you, General, I suggest that Jeri and I leave..." He pointed to a second door at the far side of the room. "...before everyone comes in, and arrive fashionably late."

Hammond looked at the second door. "That's probably a good idea."

As Ric and Jeri left, Ric turned and said, "By the way, sir, I'd recommend saying nothing about our promotions, it might raise the wrong sort of questions."

===April 13, 4:40 PM, Rokkaku Estate, Japan===

Eriko smiled as the EC 635 nimbly cleared the ridge... for her, the sight of Lake Biwa meant that her childhood home was near at hand... the ancient, rambling Rokkaku estate. Watching the shimmering water, and the more than occasional boat, passed the time as the compact, but sleek, slate gray helicopter sped to its final destination. A few minutes later, the heli circled a small grassy clearing and quickly landed.

Exiting by the co-pilot's door, Eriko was quickly joined by her 2 attendants, Min and Ursula. All 3 of them ducked down for safety until they were outside the sweep of the 4-bladed rotor. They had barely walked a dozen yards before halting in surprise as one of the clan's lovingly maintained Iltis' sped towards them.

"Obasama must be in a hurry." Eriko remarked lightly as she fingered a small metal case. The normal routine of the clan was that everyone moved on foot within the grounds of the clan's estate.

Min grumbled, "For once, I wouldn't have minded the walk... we've been sitting for nearly 8 hours. That, and the sakura's are beginning to bloom... I was looking forward to seeing them."

Ursula giggled lightly and poked Min in the ribs. "I think you need a bath more than a walk."

Eriko kept a straight face as they closed on the flat-gray, compact, military VW 4 by 4, ignoring the word-play, and casual insults between her friends. She acknowledged the bow by the driver and climbed into vehicle, quickly joined by Min and Ursula. Eriko glanced at the driver. "Instructions?"

The young man replied, "The Daikage wishes your immediate presence, Eriko-sama. Your attendants are free to return to their quarters."

Eriko nodded and replied, "Very well, let's go."

===1 hour later, Mae Von Krieger's private study===

Kneeling on the tatami floor before a low table, her hands poised over the key board and mouse, Eriko asked, "Do you wish to see the footage again, Daikage-sama?"

Mae Von Krieger pursed her lips and stared at the HD-CRT monitor's blue screen. She closed her eyes and reviewed what she had seen three times thus far, in her mind. After a long moment of silence, she asked, "Replay the part where Akira-chan and his companions are waiting at the gate... just before the Russian woman appears." After Eriko cued up the video, Mae watched the scene captured by the security cameras, focusing on the dark-haired girl standing next to the blonde woman.

Watching the monitor like a hawk, Mae held up her hand and waited... "Stop!" She motioned to Eriko with her hand, pointed at the screen and asked, "Come here my child, and bring the keyboard and mouse." Eriko quietly shuffled over to her grandmother on her knees and positioned herself on Mae's right, holding the two wireless devices. Mae tapped the monitor's screen with her left index finger. "Enlarge this portion of the screen, and center it on the girl's head."

"Hai, Daikage-sama." Eriko outlined the area with the mouse and began zooming in, 50% at a time. After the sixth increase of the selected area, Mae motioned for Eriko to stop.

Mae glanced over at Eriko and asked, "Can you sharpen this further, Eriko-chan?"

Eriko smiled to herself, the leader of the clan had just lessened the formality of the moment. "I will try... the quality of this video isn't that good to begin with."

Mae softly patted Eriko's left hand. "Just try your best, dear... this is very important, I think."

After a several minutes of adjusting the enlarged area, Eriko said, "This is the best result I can get, obasama."

Mae simply replied by gently squeezing Eriko's hand, and continued to look at the enlarged portion of the video. After a long moment, Mae asked, "Look at the side of the girl's face and tell me what you see."

Eriko blinked to clear her eyes and did as she asked. After looking for a few seconds, Eriko replied, "It's partially obscured by the glasses she's wearing..." Eriko blinked again. "...but the blood vessels in her temple region... are enlarged." Eriko turned to her grandmother. "Is this important?"

Mae nodded to herself. '_She's never been told about... them._' "Are you certain, my child?"

Eriko frowned in concentration, then enlarged the selected area one more time. After a moment of looking at the screen, she nodded. "Hai, obasama. I'm completely certain of it."

Mae shifted slightly on her cushion and looked at Eriko. "Now to the other matter; the chakra that you and your companions felt... are you certain it didn't come from somebody, like an outside presence, rather than that room?"

Eriko vigorously shook her head. "No obasama, Min-tan was even closer to the source of the chakra and was directly in sight of the room... she saw the same light that the camera recorded, and swears that couldn't have come from anywhere else. She told me that it almost caused her to drop the Kage Maji jutsu she was using."

"I see." Mae considered the source. She had taken a personal interest in Min after she had been liberated from a secret research facility in the heart of China, along with a number of other selected children; most of them kidnapped from other nations, unlike Min, who was a native and a ransuu-ko... the name for a non-clan child born with the Gogyo-mon blood-line.

Every ransuu-ko was the result of mating with a Gogyo-mon carrier; the blood-line could lay dormant for generations, then appear without warning, with variable results... and with Min, the results were powerful indeed. Mae considered the common description of that chakra: powerful, yet peaceful and comforting... and the color of it. 'I've seen this before.'

Eriko looked at her grandmother, obviously deep in thought. "What does it all mean?"

Mae Von Krieger smiled to herself and replied, "It means that our long wait is over... and all that we've done has _not_ gone for naught."

Eriko arched a thin, shapely eyebrow. "I don't understand."

Mae lightly patted Eriko's hand. "Don't worry dear, in due time everything will become clear." Despite her advanced age, Mae Von Krieger smoothly stood up, motioned Eriko to rise and said, "It is time."

Eriko stood up, a confused look on her face. "Time for what, obasama?"

Mae smiled and struck a pose. "Time for a new mission, my dear." She noted the poorly concealed look of dismay on Eriko's face. "Yes child, I know you just got home..." Mae's smile grew wider. "...but I suspect you'll not mind this new task."

Only the slight rustle of her kimono marked her movement as she went to the room's irori, set in the north-east corner, and knelt beside the raised wooden border. Mae reached down, pressed a series of hidden catches, causing the irori to silently sink and move aside. Glancing up from the dark opening, Mae wore a cat-like smile. "I have a present for you to deliver."

Eriko kept her face neutral as her eyes flicked to secret opening. While she hadn't known of it, it hardly came as a surprise... given the nature of this household. "To whom, obasama?"

Mae gave Eriko a coy smile. "Why to Akira-chan, of course." Mae nodded to herself. "It's time for him to fully understand who he is." She silently added, '_...and what he could be._' Mae saw the unspoken question on Eriko's face; she wagged her finger at Eriko. "No dear... that would be telling." She suddenly sprang up and disappeared down the secret entrance.

After a moment of silence, Mae's voice came up from the darkness. "Come along child, don't dawdle up there."

Eriko rolled her eyes and sighed; she muttered, "Sometimes I wish that she'd act her age." Then twitched her head to one side... dodging a pebble that whizzed past her head and embedded itself in the ceiling.

"I heard that... gaki."

===April 14, 2:35 PM, Conference Room C, SGC===

General Hammond looked up from his notes. "Now that we're all here, let's get started."

Playing along, Ric snapped off a salute and replied, "Sorry about that sir, there was an unforeseen delay."

Sam commented in a low voice, "Go figure." Hayes, and Von Krieger... with Irina Lebed attached to his arm, had just arrived. She ignored Jack's chuckle as the tall, blonde Russian, now clad in a rather snug SGC jumpsuit and boots, gave Sam a saucy wink in response.

Ric noted the unspoken comeback and gave Irina a warning look as he sat down; he muttered, "Ne shali."

Naruto kept a straight face and thought, '_Ric's lady friend is way too much like Anko._' Then he looked at Hinata and smiled... she did look cute in glasses. Naruto took a breath and ordered his mind; General Hammond had given him, and Hinata instructions before the meeting. As a shinobi, he understood secrecy... but he did wonder how they'd discuss the gem and such, but _not_ bring up the subject of chakra while discussing what had happened over the weekend.

Hinata was having likewise thoughts. '_I suppose I'll let Janet-sensei do the talking, and just keep my answers and explanations to the point._' She had watched Ric's lady friend from the moment she had walked into the room, practically clinging onto Ric... while her affection for Ric was very real, the less-than-serious attitude she projected was _not_. From her previous exposure to Irina, before they had left the lodge, Hinata had noted an almost unnatural grace to her movements, her sharp eyes, and her ability to posit questions that seemed casual... but were very focused.

As far as Hinata was concerned, taking her lightly would be a serious mistake... granted, she was no kunoichi, but there was a veiled... _wildness_ about her that, like Naruto, reminded her of Anko Mitarashi. All that aside, Irina's carefree nature, and penchant for casual, dark humor made her hard to dislike... and Hinata definitely envied the bold and sexy air she effortlessly projected. In her secret fantasies, Hinata acted likewise with Naruto... but reality was another matter; the wall of shyness was still intact when push came to shove concerning Naruto.

General Hammond brought her back into focus when he asked, "Let's hear your report first, Dr. Fraiser."

"Certainly sir." Janet opened her folder. "I conducted a full exam of Captain Lebed... frankly, I couldn't find anything out of place, or worth noting, other than she's the picture of perfect health. If I hadn't been told of her medical emergency from the other day..." She glanced at Hinata and Sam. "...I wouldn't have noted it in her records. Granted, I still have some medical tests that I haven't gotten the results on yet, but I don't expect anything out of the ordinary when they come in."

Hammond smiled affably, "That's good news, General Lebed was quite concerned about the Captain's condition. It'll make my next call to him much easier." He paused and looked about the table. '_Now comes the tricky part._' "Dr. Fraiser, was Hinata able to give you any insight as to how the artifact was able to repair that level of damage?"

Following the script, Janet replied, "On the specifics, no. However, my best educated guess is that it triggered a level of regeneration in Captain Lebed that is unknown to us. All the scans I did showed no trace of scarring, nor any of the artifacts I usually associate with intra-cranial bleeding."

The brief silence that followed Janet's report was broken by Irina softly clapping her hands together. "Ochen' horosho... Doktor Fraiser." Irina had a wolfish smile on her face. "That explains everything... except for the voice that spoke to me, and darling." Irina's pale blue eyes locked onto Hinata. "Perhaps the young lady can address that matter." Irina's breezy smile had steel behind it. "And explain what the voice... she, meant by 'being joined'... not that I mind what it implies." She punctuated her response by giving Ric a peck on the cheek, who did a worthy job of staying stone-faced. Ric's eye's, focused on General Hammond, sent a clear message... '_I warned you about her._'

Hammond nodded vaguely in reply and turned to Hinata. "And that brings us to the other portion of this meeting, the reports on the artifacts that were found by Hinata, and Naruto." He smiled and waved his hand. "Ladies first."

Hinata returned the smile, adjusted her glasses, and transferred the cloth-wrapped Gem of Life from her jacket pocket atop the conference table. Resting her hands on wrapped gem, Hinata launched into her presentation. "I'd like to address the latter item asked by Irina-san first by admitting that I'm not an expert on that particular subject. However, I've prepared messages asking about it, but they haven't been sent out yet." Hinata paused in thought, '_I could summon Suimei and ask her... but I don't think the General wants that._' "What I can say is that Ric and Irina-san exchanged samples of their... life force."

Jack sighed with relief as Hinata corrected herself, then quipped, "That sounds like you got yourself hitched, amigo."

Irina gave Ric a quizzical look. "What is hitched?"

"It's slang for zhenat... the formal state of marriage." Daniel helpfully replied.

Hinata nodded in agreement. "It has been described as such... but in spiritual terms."

Hammond raised an eyebrow. '_This could complicate matters._'

Irina smiled impishly. "I like the sound of that... this wonderful excuse to stay with you, da?" She stroked Ric's hand with a finger. "Need bigger bed though."

Teal'c spoke up. "Are congratulations in order?" Jack, Daniel, and Sam snickered at that.

Hammond's other eyebrow went up... he noted Naruto and Hinata in a whispered conversation. '_This is going from bad to worse._'

Suddenly, there was a large puff of smoke on the conference table near Naruto's end. Within seconds, the smoke cleared enough to reveal Gamakichi sitting on the conference table, looking directly at... "**Hey Naruto, do you know where Hagebosu-san is? I've got an important message for him from...**" His query was cut short as he sensed every eye in the room on him, then the toad visibly slumped. "**Damn... I messed up, didn't I?**"

The silence was broken when Irina asked in a deceptively mild voice, "Darling... why is there a gigantskaya zhabba on the table?"

General Hammond indulged himself with a double face-palm. '_Why me, Lord?_'

===April 13, 6:05 PM, far under the Rokkaku Estate, Japan===

Carefully concealed lights, linked to motion sensors, marked their passage downward... Eriko knew of the caves under the broad, high hill the clan complex occupied, but she had never imagined that it was this extensive. With a combination of her skills and honed senses, Eriko guessed that they were halfway to the base of the hill... an easy 500 feet down.

Freed from casual observation, Mae Von Krieger had dropped the pretense of a feeble, elderly woman and wove her way downward through the twisting tunnels with considerable speed. As natural as the rock surrounding them seemed to be, the path they traveled on was smooth and seamless. Eriko, for all her experience and training, couldn't discern the method used to create the path they raced along.

Without warning, the passageway fed into a large, natural chamber, only lit by a single beam of light coming from high above. As they entered, it followed Mae and Eriko, the former slowing to a walk, as they ventured further into the darkened space. Due to the bright, shifting light, Eriko could only vaguely make out the actual size of the chamber they had entered... by her best guess, it was huge.

Close to what Eriko estimated was the center, Mae came to a halt, held out her arms and called out in strong, firm voice, "Soko ni wa hikari aru mono to suru..." From everywhere... and nowhere, a feminine voice replied, "Voiceprint recognized, password accepted, all defensive protocols are disengaged... welcome, Mae-sama." At that, the entire cavern chamber slowly filled with light from multiple concealed sources. Mae chuckled under her breath. "I love doing that."

Eriko's breath caught in her throat as she beheld the contents, and full scope of it all. The flattened, extensive floor, and the entire domed cavern glittered like a sea of stars; the walls and floor were studded with shining crystals of all sizes and colors. All about them were ordered groups of wooden chests; carefully wrapped bundles in neat piles; very modern-looking, stacked wooden crates, and all-weather storage containers of every size imaginable.

As Eriko turned about, taking everything in, she halted as she spied a darkened wood dais, and behind it... three tall Jukyoku byoubu, their gilt backgrounds gleaming. One was directly behind the dais, the other two flanking it; Eriko was too far away to make out the details of the painted panels... but she could tell that they were extensive and very elaborate.

Wide-eyed, Eriko turned to her obasama. "What is this place?"

Mae threw out her hands and waved them about. "This place, my dear child, was the original hiding place of our clan. Now this place serves as our archive, general storehouse, our primary treasury, and an armory." She gave Eriko a sensible smile. "And the resting place of our clan's most powerful, and treasured, artifacts."

Then Mae pointed towards the dais. "And there, the first Daikage declared our clan's goals and principles to his followers, after we found ourselves on a brand-new world, far from our homes."

As Eriko's eyes wandered about the cavern again, then the impact of her obasama's statement hit her. "Didn't you mean to say... brand new land?"

Mae gently smiled in reply. "No child." She waved her arms about again. "This is the truth, and the legacy of a people who freely chose exile from their birth-world." Eriko staggered slightly at the declaration. "Be honored Eriko-chan, few since those early years have stood in this place, and fewer still know the whole truth of our clan."

Mae pointed again to the dais. "Over 200 years ago, the Kage Ichizoku came to this great chain of islands, sent here by the wisdom and mercy of the Dai-kenjin Akarumu. Assisting her in this deed was her beloved Kuusai; and, with the blessings of Kaminari, creator and patron of our clan, and its guiding force, we were given the opportunity to put the sins and misdeeds the original Shadow Clan behind us." Mae fell silent and motioned to Eriko to join her as she walked towards the dais.

Eriko let the deluge of information... the hidden truths of her clan settle in as she followed her obasama. After a long moment of silence, Eriko found her voice, and asked the first of many questions. "Is that why you were so interested in Akira's companions?"

"Yes dear. That girl shows the traits of a clan from our original world... our arch-foes, and main rival amongst all the other shinobi clans of that world... the Hyuuga's. They were the chief architect of the alliance that attacked the Shadow Clan." Mae added silently, '_...and probably ended their existence._'

Eriko froze in her tracks as she recalled the interaction between the girl and Akira; it was self-evident that they were friends. She voiced the obvious question... and dreaded the potential answer. "Is it your wish that she be... neutralized?"

Mae suddenly twirled about and laughed. "Heavens no, child." She gently slapped the top of Eriko's head. "Whatever gave you..." Mae fell silent as she realized that she was the author of Eriko's question. "I'm sorry dear." Mae leaned forward and gently touched Eriko's cheek. "I should have made myself clearer."

Mae's face saddened as she turned about and continued walking towards the dais. "No child, there was a _very_ good reason for most of the other clans to turn against us." Mae nodded to herself. "Yes, we were accounted as a mighty clan; wealthy, preeminent, dominant, and... dreaded."

Mae glanced back at Eriko, still a few steps behind her as they weaved between the various items stockpiled within the cavern. "As the years passed, the Shadow Clan became drunk with power, and their wealth. With each new generation, the clan strayed further and further from their true path." Mae saw the look on Eriko's face. "Yes, there were corrections, a lord of virtue would come forward and set things right... for a time."

Mae let out a sad sigh. "But the truth of it is that even the wisest and most just of lords cannot guarantee the righteousness, nor the temperament of those that succeed them." Mae held Eriko with a firm gaze. "It's an unyielding truth, and a hard lesson that only a few lords have ever grasped. The First Daikage's greatest achievement was the creation of a creed, that when adhered to, checks the worst that lies within us all, and stifles _any_ longing for the Shadow Clan that was."

When they finally arrived at the dais, without comment, Mae lightly sprang onto it and motioned for Eriko to follow. After Eriko silently landed beside her, Mae continued, "Here on this center byoubu is what you need to see." She pointed towards the tall, ten-paneled screen.

Eriko carefully sweep her eyes over the full screen. She let out a muted grasp and pointed to one section of panels. "That's the light Min saw leaking from under the door." Eriko moved to get a better look at the scene; a robed, white-haired woman holding aloft a great gem... radiating a pale blue light, and below her, a large gathering of people, some clearly depicted as warriors, others as ordinary-looking people... men, women, and children.

She looked at painted screen at length... it was done in the style of the Kano school, late 19th century at least, but the people depicted where not Japanese... Eriko saw people depicted with blond and red hair, their clothing had odd touches to them that was familiar, yet not.

Then she remembered... every year, the clan held a special celebration where it's members wore their finest clothes, but the colors and patterns on them were not of a style normally seen in Japan.

Mae smiled as stood beside Eriko. "You see it, don't you?" Eriko nodded in reply. "Yes, those are the original costumes wore by our ancestors, each style noting the clans that they came from." Mae pointed to a trio, a red-haired man flanked by two women, one with blonde hair, the other bright red hair, centered below the white-haired woman. "That man is the first Daikage, Akira-sama; with him are his, wife and first consort, Tsukiko Senju, and Umiko Uzumaki."

Eriko replied, "Then the tales you me all those years ago..."

Mae nudged Eriko with her shoulder. "They were not fables, dear child... they were the chronicles of our clan's past." Mae pointed to the two women. "I am from the line of Umiko, and you, dear child are from the line of Tsukiko. They were the gentle hands that helped Akira-sama back onto the clan's righteous path." Mae gently grasped Eriko's hand and smiled at the look on Eriko's face. "It's time for truths to come forth, my dear... all of them."

===April 14, 3:05 PM, Conference Room C, SGC===

After Gamakichi delivered the scroll, he quickly departed... the keen gaze of the very pretty, and very strange lady, made him shiver... but not before Hammond penned a short note and gave it to the toad.

As the smoke of Gamakichi's departure dissipated, Ric considered the situation at hand. '_Whatever plan Hammond had in mind is totally fubar'ed._' He stole a glance at Irina... her eyes were narrowed, her mouth set in a thin, tight line. '_I know that look... she won't do anything stupid, but she's not going to let this go... not till she gets to bottom of it._' Ric glanced at General Hammond and could hear the gears turning in his head. '_I need to do something before he accidentally screws the pooch._'

Ric stood up, faced Hammond and locked eyes with him. "General."

Hammond almost looked grateful for the distraction. "What is it, Major?"

"I'd like you to put this meeting on hold for a few minutes." Ric looked over at Jack. "Colonel O'Neill and I need to have a private chat."

"We do?" Jack replied, openly perplexed.

"Yes, we do." Ric turned back to Hammond and gave him a meaningful look. "This is very important, General."

Openly thoughtful for a long moment, Hammond finally nodded. "Permission granted, Major."

Ric nodded in thanks, rolled his chair back, sank to one knee facing Irina and swiveled her chair towards him. Looking up at her, Ric asked in a soft voice, "Ty mne doveryayesh?"

After several seconds of silence, and staring into Ric's eyes, Irina's face softened and gave him a gentle smile. "Da."

Ric returned the smile. "Khorosho." At that, he stood up and motioned to Jack. "Come'on." As Jack rounded the conference table, Ric glanced down at Irina and tugged on her ear. "Ne shali."

Irina put on a pout and replied, "Don't you trust me, darling?"

"Of course I do." Ric gently caressed her cheek and added. "But I also know what happens when you get bored... _or_ restless."

Irina sniffed sadly in response. "That wasn't my fault."

Jack froze in mid-stride as neared Ric. "Where have I heard that before?"

Ric rolled his eyes and headed for the door. "Let's take this outside before the General changes his mind."

As Jack and Ric quietly exited, Sam leaned towards Daniel and whispered, "What the hell was that about?"

As Daniel shrugged in reply, he quietly considered the exchange between Ric and Irina and recalled a similar exchange... years ago, between himself and Sha're. '_She loves him._' Daniel nodded to himself; he understood Ric's position all too well. He came from one world, her from another, the vast difference between them, and having to choose... to stay, or to go.

While he had put the grief of loosing his wife behind him, it hadn't been easy. His 3 year quest to find Sha're after her abduction by Apophis, seeking a host for his queen, Amaunet, ended in the chaotic mix of battle... and the death of Sha're, and a final bittersweet message to him via her Kara Kesh.

Daniel glanced at Teal'c as the memories of that day flooded his mind... no, all of that was in the past. He looked over at Irina, currently amusing herself by spinning slowly in her chair, and mulled over how little he understood what had happened at the airport. Hinata had explained it to him, but in sparse and simple terms... he didn't blame her, he could tell that she was still working it out in her own mind at the time. Daniel took a deep breath and decided. No, he didn't want a repeat, of any sort, of what had happened to him for Ric and Irina.

Daniel smiled as he remembered what he was carrying on him; he pulled out a small, folding chess set. '_Let's take a peek at who's touched Ric's heart._' As he laid the travel-sized box on the table, Irina stopped spinning; she gave Daniel a friendly, predatory smile and said, "You can have white."

Daniel returned the smile as they set up the pieces.

===April 14, 2:50 PM, Hokage's Office, Konoha===

Jiraiya looked up from the folder Tsunade had given him. "This is a prank, right?"

Tsunade pulled out a bottle and 2 cups from her desk. "No, it's a potential nightmare in the offing." She filled the cups, passed one to Jiraiya and knocked her's back. "Every clan _except_ the Hyuuga's has given me excerpts from their Sacred Scrolls; and, _all_ of them have details in common."

Jiraiya took a drink from his cup and replied, "Yes, they all state that this clan is no more."

After she refilled her cup, Tsunade pulled out a second folder. "By all accounts, yes." She passed it to Jiraiya. "But this information says, maybe not." Jiraiya opened the new folder and chuckled. " Tsunade's right eyebrow twitched. "What's so funny?"

Jiraiya turned the folder around and pointed at the inside cover photo. "He has good taste in hair color." He gave Tsunade a sly look. "It make him look very authoritative and distinguished, don't you think?"

Tsunade snorted derisively. "As opposed to you?" She waved her hand at the folder. "Read on, toad-boy." She fell silent and let Jiraiya concentrate on the contents of the folder.

Halfway through it's contents, Jiraiya looked up and said. "I can't understand half of what's in here, but it seems like he's well traveled, and no stranger to danger... I like him already." He read further on, then glanced up with a frown. "Do you trust Hinata's observations?"

"Considering she awakened the chakra, and capacity to mold it, in a man over 10 years your junior... yes." Tsunade replied.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "It's time for you to put that bottle away..." His attempt to snap up the sake bottle earned him a firm slap on the hand. His other eyebrow went up. "Okay... maybe not." He looked at the set of Tsunade's chin. "Kami above, you're serious..."

Jiraiya's comment was interrupted by a puff of smoke... and Gamakichi, facing her, appearing on Tsunade's desk. Without comment, the mystic toad reached into his vest and dropped a folded note on the desk... then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As Tsunade reached for the note, she noted the look on Jiraiya's face. "What?"

Jiraiya's suspicious frown deepened. "Didn't it seem a little odd to you that Gamakichi came and went without saying a word... _and_ ignored the bottle of sake standing next to him?"

Tsunade's hands froze in mid-opening the note... she recalled the numerous quips, comments, and veiled insults he usually made, _and_ he was a worse sake moocher than Jiraiya. "You're right, that was a first."

Jiraiya tossed the folders aside, bit his thumb and went straight to one knee as his hands flashed through the correct hand seals... "SUMMON"... a new puff of smoke occurred on Tsunade's desk.

The first thing that Gamakichi saw was the upper half of Jiraiya's head, and a pair of narrowed eyes fixed on him. The rest of Jiraiya slowly appeared as he rose up; his smile didn't match the tone of his voice. "Hello my little friend... I have some questions for you."

Gamakichi gulped audibly.

===Shadow Clan Sanctuary===

Mae stopped an arm's-length from a screen panel depicting the first Daikage and his meeting with Akarumu, with Kaminari standing beside her. She kneeled down, lifted a small piece of the dais floor, exposing a key-pad. She tapped a simple number sequence on it, then pressed the # and * keys in a certain pattern. After she finished, the screen panel 'clicked' and opened outward revealing the narrow end of a long, rectangular, black metal chest.

Mae bowed deeply towards the chest before touching a hidden catch... causing the stone pad it was resting on to silently extend outwards far enough to position the chest before her. Without prompting, Eriko knelt beside Mae and bowed to the chest as well... she easily sensed a powerful, yet subdued chakra radiating from the plain-looking, seamless black chest.

"This is one of our clan's most important treasures." Mae explained in a soft voice. "As you doubtlessly noticed, there's no obvious lock on this."

Eriko carefully looked at the chest and nodded. "That implies that the lock is somehow keyed to the charka I'm sensing."

Mae smiled and patted Eriko's hand. "Very good... continue please."

Eriko sat quietly for a few moments and said, "Given the chest's location, I would surmise that the chest's contents are somehow related to the first Daikage... and perhaps the two Sages shown on the panel." Eriko fell silent, considered the possibilities, and added, "That would imply that only someone linked to him has the capacity to open this chest."

Mae grinned and replied, "Excellent. You've just earned a special bonus for your next mission."

Eriko smiled to herself. '_That could get interesting._' She glanced at the chest again and asked, "By the way, does that imply that I could open this?"

Mae's face turned serious. "That is one possibility. However, the chest is a bit more selective than that." Mae let out a tiny grin at the look on Eriko's face. "This chest was not made here. The arts used to create it have _no_ equal on this world, given who created it in the first place." Mae paused to let that sink in. "The chest will react to whomever touches it... having the proper lineage is _not_ enough to gain access to its contents; it will judge the heart of anyone daring to lay hands on it."

Eriko glanced at Mae's face... she wasn't joking. "What happens then?"

"Possibly anything..." Mae shrugged in reply. "...or perhaps nothing, if the intent of the person is merely innocent curiosity. On the other hand, it _could_ inflict a painful death on someone with a darkened soul seeking it's contents... or something less dramatic. But, it could open for someone with the proper blood-line, and a true heart."

"That implies that the contents are very important... and of considerable power. And dangerous in the wrong hands." Eriko concluded.

Mae fixed her gaze on the black metal chest and added, "You reasoned out the contents correctly, Eriko. Within this chest is the legacy of the Akira, the man who returned us to the path Kaminari laid out for our clan, and with the aid of Tsukiko and Umiko, created the zendou no soubou... the shadowy path of virtue." Mae covertly glanced at Eriko. '_A creed that you've upheld at every turn... to your great credit._'

Eriko's breath hitched in her throat as she realized one of the reasons why obasama had revealed a clan treasure of this magnitude to her. '_She wants me to take this chest to Akira._' Eriko stared at the chest and considered the possibilities; while she had no doubts about his repute, the chest was another matter.

By Mae's own comments, that chest had its own standards, set by a no less than one of the great Sages. For a brief moment, worry crept into her... what if the chest rejected him? Would it harm him? Eriko's chest tightened at the thought that she would be the one to visit an injury... or worse, upon him.

Eriko stared at the black chest. '_No... it's better that I suffer such a..._' She shut her eyes, thrust out her arm, and pressed her hand against the top of the chest and... nothing happened... save a muted 'clack'. Eriko opened her eyes when felt a hand atop hers.

Mae whispered into Eriko's ear. "This is why I sent you to Moscow."

Eriko froze with surprise. "I don't understand..."

Mae took Eriko's hand in hers and squeezed it. "In part, it was a test, silly child." Mae gave Eriko a knowing smile. "What was the very first lesson I taught you?"

Eriko closed her eyes and thought back to that very day; she replied, "Master the shadow, but never let it master your heart."

"And the second lesson?" Mae asked.

Eriko smiled and replied, "The shadow is a tool to be wielded, not a realm to be embraced."

"Correct." Mae patted her hand. "Those two were amongst the first lessons the Daikage gave his followers. Wielding power, especially great power, is a dangerous thing. Without virtue, or restraint, power becomes the master, rather than the servant. Become ungrounded, and arrogance and corruption follows... and power becomes a devouring beast."

Mae leaned closer. "Your test was this: what would happen if you were given the power of life and death over Akira's lover. You were given _the_ opportunity to destroy a rival for Akira's heart, and refused to exploit it." Mae gave Eriko a gentle smile. "That is why the chest opened for you, dear... you refused to let darkness enter your heart." She watched Eriko withdraw her hand. "Shall we see what's inside, Eriko-chan?" Mae whispered.

Eriko shook her head. "No... the contents are not meant for me, nor am I worthy of such an honor."

Mae veiled a proud smile behind the sleeve of her kimono. '_That may be the other reason why the chest opened for you. And you're wrong, there is one item within that may yet be yours... but that's not for me to decide._' "As you wish." Mae reached down, resealed the chest, then shifted to face Eriko. "Your first task, that I suspect you've already guessed at, is to convey this..." Mae lightly patted the chest. "...to Akira-chan. Your second task is to make the acquaintance of the two youths observed at the airport, and learn who, and what they are."

Eriko shifted backwards and bowed deeply. "I accept your mission, Daikage-sama... gladly."

Mae returned the bow. "And, the special bonus you've earned is a day with Akira-chan... if you can obtain it, and perhaps more than a day... I won't object too much as long as you return here with worthwhile information."

The smile on Eriko's face spoke volumes; she bowed a second time. "Thank you, Daikage-sama."

Mae returned the bow with nod and pointed at the chest. "Since that's all settled, be a good girl and carry this back to my study... I need to make the proper arrangements for you."

Eriko picked the chest up and rested on her shoulder, then recalled where Akira had been posted; she asked, "But Akira-san is at..."

Mae waved her hand dismissively. "Please, the clan has been collecting allies and connections for over 200 years... I think we can manage something as simple as getting into a ultra-secret installation hiding under a mountain." Mae noted Eriko's dubious look and chuckled. "Don't worry my child... I'll think of something." She gave Eriko a side-ways glance. "It wouldn't do to have you two apart... he is your betrothed after all."

Eriko replied with a face that was annoyed, and sad. "Hardly. He rejected your proposal... not that I blame him, I was only a child then, and a close cousin."

Mae sighed. "You're right... I should have waited a few more years for that." Then Mae halted and turned about. "And you're wrong about the other part."

===April 14, 2:50 PM, Hokage's Office, Konoha===

Tsunade shot Jiraiya a sour glare as she tossed a soiled rag into the waste can next to her desk. He replied with a look of bland innocence. "What?"

Tsunade growled out. "He pissed all over my desk, dammit!"

Jiraiya shrugged in reply. "Hey, he answered all my questions... and yours, without a jot of meandering. Personally, I found it rather refreshing."

Tsunade snorted angrily and replied, "The next time you want to play 'good ninja, bad ninja'... warn me so that I'll have a bed-pad on hand from the hospital." She followed her comment with a shot of sake. "And get that perverted look off your face you old toad... I _know_ what you're thinking... and it's never going to happen."

'_Never say never, Tsu-chan._' Jiraiya donned an innocent smile as he filed away the fantasy of a naked, moaning Tsunade bent over the desk, her south gate getting firmly probed. '_That is so going into my next chapter!_' "So... aren't you going to read the note?"

"_You_ read it... Gaah!" Tsunade wrinkled her nose and tossed the note, soaked in toad urine, at Jiraiya. She grumbled dire threats as she hunted for another clean rag.

Without complaint, Jiraiya unfolded the sodden paper and remarked, "Interesting... the writing is still intact; your pen-pal uses high quality ink."

Tsunade opened her mouth to ask, then thought better of it. '_No... I don't want to know how he knows that._' She opted for the obvious question, "So what does it say?"

"Your dear friend, the Shogun, wants to test the Stargate two days from now, at 10 in the morning." Jiraiya replied cheerfully.

Tsunade paused in mid-search; she forced a neutral tone on her reply. "Does it say who's being sent?"

Jiraiya eye-smiled from behind the soggy paper. '_You really miss that boy, don't you Tsu-chan?_' He returned his attention to the note. "Hmm... nope, not a word." He deliberately paused to study her reaction before continuing. "Although... to be fair to Shogun-san..." Jiraiya studied the writing, and the message carefully. "...he seems to have been rather annoyed and... worried when he scribbled this note."

Tsunade frowned at that bit of insight. "Worried?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Makes sense to me. Please recall Gamakichi talking about the strange pretty lady with the 'scary eyes'." He waved his hand about the office. "How would _you_ feel if secret information was revealed in the presence of strangers?" Jiraiya snickered. "Knowing you... you'd be furious."

"At the very least." Tsunade resumed the hunt for a clean rag. "But, any resolution of the problem Gamakichi caused is in Shogun's hands, not mine. The only thing I can do is ask about her."

Jiraiya cocked his head in thought. "Agreed. Now, back to the man in the folder, what do Naruto and Hinata think of him? And, did any of their letters ever mention a scary lady?"

Tsunade grinned in triumph as she brandished a clean rag; that quest finished, she continuing cleaning. "Naruto likes him. Hinata likes him... a lot. And no to the other question."

Jiraiya grinned. "Oh ho, so the Hyuuga-hime likes him, eh?" His writer's hand began to twitch.

Tsunade saw the look in his eyes and instantly donned her scary face. "Don't. Go. There." Jiraiya shot his hands up in surrender. "Anyway, she _likes_ him because she sees a kindred spirit... someone not exactly in love with their clan; he rejected a betrothal and broke with his clan."

Jiraiya let out a low whistle of appreciation. '_That sounds like something I'd write as a story line._' "Rejection and defiance, sounds like my kind of story. But that aside, there's still too many unknowns here." He put the folders back on her newly clean desk. "I'll take care of sending a confirmation to Shogun about the test... I take it that you're ready, now that the seal been removed?"

Tsunade gathered up the folders and locked them away. "As ready as we're going to be. I need..." The intercom buzzed, Tsunade pressed the reply button. "What is it Shizune?"

"_Sorry to interrupt you Hokage-sama, but I have a message for Jiraiya-dono, it's marked with a black seal._" Shizune replied.

Tsunade watched Jiraiya quickly stand up and motion with his hands. She pushed the talk button. "He's coming out to get it now." She went still as he quickly left the office, and returned a moment later holding a small piece of paper, the usual size for a note sent by messenger hawk. As she watched Jiraiya read it, the look on his face made her heart sink, she knew what would come next.

After Jiraiya finished the message, he activated a small, controlled fire jutsu... the note drifted to floor as a fine ash. "I have to go." The frustration, and urgency in his voice was obvious.

Tsunade asked, "You can't put it off until after the test?" She already knew the answer he would give.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and exhaled softly. "_Nothing_ would please me more... I've been waiting for that test, and what comes next, more than you know. No Tsunade, I can't push this off, something has happened that I _have to_ investigate further." The look on Jiraiya's face made Tsunade's gut tighten. "I'll send a message to Shogun confirming the test before I leave and try to get back as quick as I can... I'm sorry, Tsu-chan." The final part came out as a whisper.

"Just come back." Tsunade replied. His nod in reply was as close to a promise as he would give... then there was a rustle at the window, and he was gone.

Tsunade looked at the bottle of sake, the two cups, and put them back in her desk.

===Outside Conference Room C, SGC===

After moving several paces away from the door, Jack crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Okay, what's the problem?"

Ric's eyebrows went up. "Other than a mystic toad teleporting into the meeting... plenty."

Jack grimaced and hung his head. "Yeah... that did kinda fuck things up."

Ric snorted in reply. "You have _no_ idea... things are _beyond_ fubar'ed, Jack. At any rate, this song-and-dance routine about keeping Irina in the dark over the discovery of chakra _isn't_ going to fly... and needs to be scrapped."

Jack stiffened and narrowed his eyes. "Are you suggesting that we share our info on chakra with the Ruskies... because if you are, Major Von..."

"It's Colonel Von Krieger now, old friend." Ric interrupted. "And no, I'd rather _not_ open that can of worms." Ric held up a hand. "Just hear me out on this, please."

Jack exhaled heavily and nodded. "Okay, I'll bite, and congratulations... I'm guessing you took the gig, right?"

Ric scowled at Jack. "Hmm... I figured you had a hand in that. Well, no matter, what's done is done." Ric squared his shoulders. "Right now, the best solution, for everybody, is that Irina comes with me to Konoha because she can't stay here... and she _can't_ go back to Russia."

Jack jerked in surprise. "Whoa there, sport... does the General know about this?"

Ric frowned. "No, not yet, but he will. Jack... do you really understand what happened in that room at the airport?"

"Sorta... I know what Hinata said, but..." Jack fell silent and shrugged.

"Exactly. Don't get me wrong, but Hinata didn't tell you guys everything." Ric leaned towards Jack and added softly, "Something else happened besides Irina's life being saved... the voice, Hinata called her Akarumu... said that she was going to 'make a few minor changes' to Irina."

"Are you certain of that?" Jack asked. Ric nodded curtly in reply.

Ric frowned and added, "I won't pretend to know what's going on, but I learned enough from Hinata to understand that Irina and I had a close encounter with someone who qualifies for 'legendary figure' status... you know, the kind of people that level mountains with a wave of their hand."

Jack remembered some the enemies he and teammates had faced over the years and nodded, "Yeah... I've met a couple of those types." Jack added a grimace. "They're usually _not_ a whole lotta fun to be around... they tend to wreck planets, and stuff like that, when they don't get their way."

"Precisely. I'll leave it to your imagination what someone like _that_, considers a 'minor change'." Ric replied, and left it at that... '_God knows what she might have done to me._'

Jack cringed at the thought. "General Hammond needs to know about this." Ric nodded in agreement. "And... it does sound like keeping chakra a secret from your..." Jack smirked. "...old lady, is kinda pointless. So yeah, I'm beginning to think that you're right about putting her in the loop." Then Jack's face turned serious. "But there's still the issue of _who_ she is, what she'll do with the info, and... can she be trusted." He thumped his head lightly against the wall. "I had a feeling that things were going to get awkward."

"Unexpected guests tend to do that." Ric said. "For what it's worth, Irina and I did have a serious talk yesterday at the lodge... and I do mean serious. Irina made it pretty damn clear that she does _not_ want to get separated from me again... no matter what happens."

"Well, that helps." Adding silently, '_I hope._' "So, how do we do this?" Jack asked.

"I'll pull Irina out of the meeting, and have a more focused talk with her. Without going into the details, I'll tell her that I'm getting a new posting. Her choice: follow me, or stay here at SGC." Ric sighed. "I'll handle the issue of getting her to walk through a Stargate later; let's handle this one problem at a time. While Irina and I are out of the room, you go have a chat with the boss, get some more info, and opinions out of Hinata. We need more to work with."

Ric paused and added, "And under _no_ circumstances, let Naruto and Hinata know Jeri and I are going to Konoha, at least not yet. And, here's a heads-up for you; Hammond wants a test of Konoha's gate and I've volunteered. I've suggested a plan that should get Naruto and Hinata out of the loop. Jeri's going to cover that angle, so it's good that we're having this private conversation. If you want to, we can talk about the secondary details later."

Jack smiled and replied. "Okay, I like this plan, and thanks for the tip. I've got a pretty good idea as to who Hammond will approach for the 'gate address test. I'll help with keeping Naruto busy and let the others, who might be going with you, know what's going on." Jack pushed off the wall and looked at his watch. "Half-time is over, let's turn this game around."

===Inside Conference Room C, Part II===

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Hammond looking at door that Jack and Ric had exited from a few minutes ago; Janet-sensei used the break in the meeting as an opportunity to reread the folders she had used for her report. With his hands below the table, Naruto continued his conversation, after a fashion, with Hinata via hand signs; he replied to her question... (don't know... worried?)

Hinata kept a frown off her face as she looked at Daniel and Irina, trading comments in Russian as they moved their pieces on the chess board. From what little she knew of the game, taught to her by Daniel, they were still evenly matched... but the game wasn't her sole focus, watching the body language, and tone of their word play... was proving very informative.

Hinata replied, (not yet). She motioned towards Daniel and Irina, (happy, friendly, he like her). Hinata let out a tiny smile as Daniel softly slapped his own face as Irina captured one of his pieces. She looked at the others around the table; Sam was also watching the game, though not as intently as Teal'c, who never did anything casually, in her estimation. Jeri glanced at game as he busied himself writing in a small note book... then watched Jeri cock his head towards the door, just about the same time as she sensed someone there.

Naruto watched as Jack walked in with a grin, with Ric on his heels, who wasn't smiling... Jack turned and walked towards Hammond while Ric moved to Irina's side; he felt the hidden tension in the room ease as the subtle frown on Hammond's face disappeared. In a few moments, everything changed; Ric leaned down and whispered something in Irina's ear, then led her out of the room with a pout on Irina's face.

Irina's final words as she led out of the room was, "Touch nothing. I'll be back to beat you."

Jack halted in front of Hammond. "Sir, we need to switch gears for a bit." He looked at Hinata. "Some more details are needed..." Jack looked back to insure that Ric and Irina had left. "...that couldn't be discussed with our guest present."

Hammond nodded and relaxed a bit more. '_Let's see if we can dig ourselves out of this hole._' "Before we start, can you tell me what Major Von Krieger has in mind?"

Jack glanced at the ceiling before replying. "Other than he's going to have a serious chat with her... no. However, he did inform me of some of previously unknown details... " Jack switched his attention to Hinata. "...that we need answers to."

Hinata touched the Gem of Life and nodded. "I have a possible solution, but I didn't want to use it while Irina-san was present... based on the guidance General Hammond gave me before this meeting."

"I appreciate your caution Hinata, but we need to resolve this matter today." Hammond replied, then looked at Jack. "Enlighten me, Colonel... and go ahead and take a seat."

Jack went back to his chair before continuing. "Ric mentioned that during the event that healed Captain Lebed, changes were made to her." Janet stirred in her chair and gave Hinata a questioning look.

"One moment please." Hinata unwrapped the gem and laid her hand upon it, the Gem of Life's soft inner glow increased, spread outward and surrounded Hinata. A moment later, the gem pulsed and expelled a small sphere of pale blue light... that morphed into the gem's guardian, Suimei. The fairy slowly turned about, looking at everyone present, then faced Hinata. The room went silent as the glowing fairy landed on the conference table and sat down.

"**How may I help you, Hinata-sama.**' Suimei asked.

Hinata collected her thoughts and asked, "Suimei-san, do you know what Akarumu-sama did to Irina-san... besides heal her injury?"

Suimei shook her head. "**I'm sorry, Hinata-sama... only Akarumu-sama can answer that question.**"

Hammond shook his head in wonder. '_Damn... I'm glad I told Hinata to keep things simple. Gamakichi showing up was bad enough._'

Janet leaned forward, a child-like smile on her face. '_This is why I love working here._'

Sam bit her fist to keep a girlish squeal from escaping. '_She's soooo cute._' She didn't see Jack's grin when he noted the look on Sam's face."

Jeri muttered, "Well I'll be damned." '_Looks like Granny's stories weren't yarns after all._'

Daniel smiled and wondered where his favorite book on mythology was... Teal'c, having seen stranger sights, simply watched with mild interest.

Suimei noted the disappointed look on Hinata's face and added, "**Perhaps you should visit her again, she might appear if you ask for her.**" Hinata brightened at that suggestion.

Jack muttered aloud, "PX3-375." '_This is perfect... if Ric succeeds on his end._'

Hammond picked up on Jack's comment and smiled. "It looks like I have a mission to authorize." He grinned at Naruto's attempt to poke the glowing fairy with a pencil... it responded by springing into the air and whizzing around his head. '_This might work out after all._'

===April 14, 3:40 PM, Utility Closet E-1138, SGC===

Irina leaned against the back wall of the small storage room and crossed her arms. "So darling, what did you want to talk about?"

Ric mulled over his reply before answering, the casual tone, and smile on her face didn't match the tension that she was projecting through her body language. '_All or nothing time, Ric._' He closed his eyes and rehearsed his final pitch to her.

Completely oblivious to the finer points of the Gogyo-mon bloodline, Ric's anxiety over being parted from Irina triggered an inherent talent. It did him a silent favor by reconfirming one of the more notorious stereotypes his clan was known for... back on Naruto's world. Within seconds of the closet door shutting, the enclosed space became laced with pheromones, generated by his bloodline's innate ability... and Mr. Chakra was just getting started.

"Irina, we really need to talk about the future, _our_ future..." Ric paused and looked at Irina closely. "Are you alright? He noticed a rising pink flush on her neck, face and ears; then he recognized what some would call... bedroom eyes. '_Crap. I know that look... dammit... not now woman._'

Before Ric could open his mouth to continue, Irina launched off the wall she leaning against and glomped him with enough momentum to slam him into the closet's door...sending a resounding 'thud' down the fortuitously empty hallway. Irina's reply was a growling whisper, "I'm listening, darling." Her left hand slid up his SGC jumpsuit and touched the zipper.

Before Ric could respond, Mr. Chakra grabbed the steering wheel... '_Aw fuck._'

===April 12, 2:30 PM, Training Area 40, Konoha===

"I'm happy to admit you've proved me wrong." Kouseki Yamanaka looked down at a muddy and bruised Ino. "I honestly thought that you regarded the burden of being a shinobi of Konoha too lightly."

"Glad to hear it." Ino croaked back. Her first training session as an apprentice had started at 6:30 that morning. After they had warmed up together, Kouseki tested every skill, pushed every hot-button imaginable, and strained every limit Ino had. '_Now I understand why father talked about the mission success rate of Team 4... she's a total monster, but she's a skilled monster._' Ino rolled onto her stomach and willed herself to stand up. "So what's next, a race through the Forest of Death, or are you going to task me to prank Anko and steal her dango?"

Kouseki grinned in reply. "Nope, the Forest of Death is next week... you'll probably survive that since you actually made it through there in one piece during the Chuunin Exams; and yes, I saw the tape of your fight with the Haruno girl." Kouseki frowned at Ino. "That's where I got my first sense that you _might_ have something in you worth saving. As to the latter, your father wouldn't look kindly on me sending you on a suicide mission... you're a long way off from tangling with that snake."

Ino cracked a thin smile. "Could you answer one question, please?"

Kouseki nodded. "Sure... why not."

"How long did they... the Genins placed under you, last on their very first day?"

Kouseki cocked her head and thought about it for a moment or two. "Hmm... most of them didn't make it past 10:00, a few made it to almost 11:30." A look of fondness crossed her face. "One actually made it 'till noon... she was special."

Ino debated asking for the name, but her gut told her not to. '_If I can live up to her expectations, she'll tell me in due time._'

"As of now, you'll train every other day. On your off day, you'll train a half day at the hospital learning medical jutsus, the remainder of that day will be yours." Kouseki gave Ino a thin, hard grin. "However, I've also been asked to observe and evaluate any jutsus... and skills you developed outside of clan guidelines as well. That may take a bit of time to do, so don't expect a lot of play time in the near future."

Kouseki gave Ino a head-to-toe look. "A word of advice, Ino-chan, resist the urge to slack off during your free time... your lasting this long today tells me that there's a first-rate kunoichi somewhere inside you. Since Asuma-san didn't see fit to push you, it falls on me to dig her out of you." Kouseki pulled a couple of twigs out of Ino's hair and smiled. "Do you have any questions?"

Ino drew herself up straight. "No Kouseki-sensei."

"Okay, let's get something to eat... and I mean _eat_. No more dainty, 'I need to watch my waist' stupidity; work hard, eat accordingly. By the time I'm done with you, you'll need every ounce of muscle you can gain, and a level of chakra reserve to match. We're done for the day... you've earned that much."

Ino willed herself not to fall over as she bowed. "Thank you, Kouseki-sensei."

===Utility Closet E-1138, SGC, Part II===

(10 minutes or so later...)

Ric finished wiping the sweat off and dropped the wadded-up paper towels into an empty cardboard box... the restroom supplies mitigated the potential embarrassment of rejoining the meeting after the impromptu, frenzied sex session with Irina. "We still need to talk you know."

Irina paused in mid-wipe and looked up; her eyes reflected caution but the gentle smile was real. "No darling, we don't." She tossed the dampened wad of paper into the same box. "We talked yesterday morning, remember?"

Ric nodded as put on his jumpsuit. "Yes... but..."

"No buts darling." Irina replied with a tone of finality. "I _meant_ what I said... I'm staying with you, no matter what." Irina picked up some more towels and wadded them up. Her eyes went to the floor. "When you left that night... I went back to my apartment and drank until I passed out." She began wiping her arms. "I thought it would get better... I thought that I could forget that you ever existed." She began wiping her breasts. "I went to clubs and danced... and drank... and the emptiness inside me grew. I became reckless, and stupid."

Irina looked up, her pale blue eyes glistening with unexpressed tears. "When we were together in the... whiteness and you held your arms out to me, not God, nor the Devil could stop me from going to you." Irina touched her chest. "You are inside me now... I won't pretend to know how, or why. Even now, I feel your heart and I _know_ that you love me... send me away, kill me if you must, but I will _not_ leave you."

Irina held out her arms... Ric closed the distance between them and embraced her. He softly replied, "I want you to stay, but I won't pretend and say that everything will be all right." Ric tightened his grip on Irina. "Things have happened since we parted... things I can't explain easily... and once I do, your life will change forever."

Irina snickered, then kissed him. She pulled back and smiled, "Foolish talk, darling... that moment came and went the day we met."

Ric turned her smile. "It took a while for us realize that, I guess."

Irina snorted in reply. "No us, darling... you. I always knew it, even if I didn't dare to say it out loud until this moment." Irina's face turned thoughtful, then her eyes narrowed. "What did you mean... things have happened? Is someone warming my side of the bed already?"

Ric's eyebrows shot up. "Hardly... you're the one the one with the habit of luring women into bed with us."

Irina gave Ric a wicked, knowing smile. "I don't recall you refusing..." She lightly traced Ric's crotch with a finger. "...the opportunity." Unfortunately for Ric, Mr. Chakra agreed with her.

Ric replied with a straight face. "Alcohol was involved." Irina added a second finger to the response she was getting. Ric exhaled loudly and gently swatted her hand away. "Stop that... in case you've forgotten, we have a meeting to get back to." He gently pushed her back. "And we have to decide what to tell General Hammond."

Irina thoughtfully tapped her chin with a long slender finger... then grinned slyly. "Don't worry, darling... I know exactly what to say, and do."

Ric busied himself with getting dressed. '_Aw hell... I know that smile._'

===April 15, 8:30 PM, Hyuuga Compound, Neji's Room===

Not that she needed to, Hakumei knocked and asked to enter. After she heard Neji consent, she opened the door and walked in. Given the relationship between the Main and Cadet branches, she wasn't surprised when he immediately bowed and formally greeted her. She shut the door behind her. "I'm here on a personal matter, not clan business."

Neji froze, Hinata immediately came to mind. While his relationship with her had vastly improved since the Chuunin Exams, he was also well aware of Hinata's relationship with Hakumei... she was as close to a mother figure for her, as Hiashi, and more importantly, the Clan Elders, would allow. During the darker period of his relationship with Hinata, Hakumei's silent disapproval of his attitude towards Hinata had been patently obvious... she could have tortured, or killed him, with a single hand seal. "Should I kneel?" He asked politely.

Hakumei paused a moment, then realized why he'd asked. "If I'd wanted you dead, I would have simply entered and struck you down with my personal techniques before you knew I was here... so relax and be seated if you wish."

Neji let out a breath and internally smiled in relief. She was right, besides Hiashi and the Elders, there were only a few Hyuuga stronger than her. "Thank you Hakumei-san, I think I will." Neji replied then sat on the side of his bed. "Is this about..." Neji nervously paused to swallow the lump in his throat. "...Hinata-sama?"

Neji saw her nod, then turned away from him; the rustle of the clan's distinctive kimono she wore told him she was executing a jutsu, a moment later she confirmed it...

Hakumei quietly said, "Blind Eye Seal." There was a quiet whoosh, followed by a locking sound. With that done she turned, crossed his small room, and sat on a chair next to a small desk.

Neji could barely contain his surprise... that was a secret jutsu known only to the Elders and Hiashi. He thought, '_Her standing in Main Branch is even higher than I thought._'

"Can I assume you'll keep a secret?" Hakumei asked calmly, her right hand raised, fingers partly curled to do a certain hand seal. She smiled slightly when Neji nodded. "Good, because it would break my heart to inform a certain person you were killed for betraying our trust." Hakumei added sincerely and noted his subtle reaction... not to what she said, but how she'd phrased it.

Neji's eyebrows raised slightly as he thought, '_Is she referring to Hiashi-sama... or Hinata-sama?_' If he was right, Hinata was alive, which meant Naruto was too. He knew, now, how Hinata would have reacted to the posted announcement that Naruto had been declared dead. Likewise, he knew that Hakumei would not have been so calm, even referring to Hinata. Given that it was unlikely that Hiashi and the Elders knew how close Hakumei and Hinata were... Neji nodded in understanding.

Hakumei asked, honestly and sincerely, "Tell me what's going on in the Cadet Branch, and if you've heard of anything going on within the clan that may be important. I need to know how everyone is reacting to recent events; and, you have my word I won't tell anyone that you told me... I give you my word of honor on Hinata-chan's soul."

Neji nodded, there wasn't the slightest trace of deception in her voice or body language. And she'd let her emotions openly show... something no elder... or much of the clan was capable of, especially concerning Hinata. "I believe you are sincere... I'll tell you what I can."

Hakumei smiled in reply and nodded for him go ahead.

Neji's face turned thoughtful as he shifted through everything he had seen, and heard. After a few moments, he said, "This afternoon I went to inform Hiashi-sama I had been given the week off. Guy-sensei had been training Lee all day yesterday; he had told me just this morning. When I stopped at his door, it was open slightly and thought I saw him looking at a picture of Hinata-sama and smiling. When I raised my hand to knock, he must of noticed a shadow, or movement, through the opening because his expression instantly turned cold."

Hakumei made a mental note of that; something had happened to alter his feelings about Hinata... her best guess was that Tsunade had taken her advice to heart, or at least she hoped so. Verifying that would have to wait... in spite of Hiashi's openly positive comments about her, frequent visits to the Hokage's office might earn her the attention of certain Elders... and that, could become dangerous.

Neji continued, "I've also heard from an older Cadet Branch member... that I'd prefer not to name, that Senior Elder Hachiuma seemed to be upset about something lately. The common opinion is that an important deal fell through, based on a few comments he's made."

Hakumei used her considerable training to maintain her composure. That was the kind of information Tsunade would want, and probably need. If Hachiuma was upset about something, it had to be good for Konoha, and the clan... or at least Hinata. She motioned for Neji to continue.

Rather than focus on the running rumors and gossip amongst the Cadet Branch members, Neji's thoughts turned to recent events within the clan. For him, the most significant one was Hiashi's public announcement that Hanabi would be sent to the Academy... he had been present for that. That Hachiuma had politely, but vigorously objected to it was hardly news. Several of the Elders thought poorly of the ninja school, and openly supported Hachiuma's stance of keeping the children of the Main Branch out of it. No... the notable aspect of that meeting was Hiashi's curt dismissal of the Elder's objections; that ran contrary to the past trend of Hiashi deferring to Hachiuma's opinions... and his objections.

And then there was the other matter... the one that had earned him, and his team, IMO status. The fact that Hakumei had all but declared Hinata alive told him that mysterious ring that Kiba and Shino had discovered was _not_ a dead issue. Add to that the other odd things going on in Konoha, the change in status, and routine, for his peers... even Tenten had taken to missing their team training, without comment _or_ complaint from Guy-sensei. That _alone_ was unusual beyond words. He briefly considered, then discarded the idea of asking Hakumei about it; knowing that Naruto and Hinata were alive was more than he could have ever hoped for. If further news was forthcoming, he was fairly certain, now, that Hakumei would let it reach his ears.

Hakumei sat patiently, reading Neji's face. While she couldn't read his thoughts... that was the domain of the Yamanaka's, she knew that Neji's capabilities went beyond his remarkable skill with the Gentle Fist style. Part of her longed to share the secret that Konoha was harboring: the work around the Stargate, and what was about to happen. The excitement of the upcoming gate test, and the troubling news of that unknown chakra, weighed on her considerably. '_There's no need to discuss it, yet. As it stands now, all of it may come to light sooner, rather than later._'

After a few minutes of silence, Hakumei asked, "Nothing else of note?" Neji shook his head in reply. "One last thing; it is of the utmost importance that you continue to publicly regard Hinata-chan as dead." Her face became openly sad. "I realize that Hanabi-chan is suffering, and I long to tell her the truth; but, safe-guarding that secret is _critical._" Hakumei stood up, wiped her face clean of all emotion, and added, "We'll talk again in a few days, I'm going to be very busy tomorrow." She released the seal, bowed slightly and left Neji to his thoughts.

===April 14, 3:50 PM, Conference Room C, Part III===

Jack glanced at his watch, then looked about. After Hinata had returned the fairy to the gem... Jack chuckled at the memory of that, the look of disappointment on Sam's face had been priceless, there had been a brief discussion on a repeat mission to the world where they had found the underground temple, and the artifacts...

-x- (Flashback) -x-

"Did you bring it?" Daniel asked eagerly. Naruto replied by pulling out his own bundle and unwrapping it. Daniel showed his excitement by rising from his chair and standing next to Naruto. He pointed at the inkstone and asked, "May I?"

After Naruto nodded, Daniel picked up the inkstone and brush and returned to his seat. His first action was to turn the inkstone over and examine the engraved characters. After a few minutes, Daniel looked up and commented, "The characters appear to be kanji, but I can't make any sense of the word constructions."

Jack wondered what Ric would of said about it, if he had been present.

He turned the inkstone right-side up, pulled out a magnifying glass and began looking at the carvings. "This is incredible, the level of skill, and the tools needed to do this..." Daniel looked up. "I've seen examples of this type of work before, but this has no equal." He set down the glass. "And the creatures depicted, they'll all legendary beasts of Asian origin, and a few I've never seen before." Daniel turned his attention to the brush, picked it up and held in the appropriate fashion. After a few imaginary strokes with it, Daniel looked at Naruto and asked, "Have you used it yet?"

Naruto shook his head slowly no and replied, "I'm still studying the scroll that came with it... I'd like to, but I want to practice some more with Hinata before I try it."

-x- (End flashback) -x-

After all that, the only thing that happened was Dr. Fraiser getting a call to return to the Infirmary, the reason why not given. Jack noticed Hammond looking at the door and sighed. '_I hope that Ric gets this matter settled properly, I don't think he'll be okay with Irina being confined._'

A pair of firm knocks on the door broke the mood of the room... the surprise was Irina semi-dragging Ric into the room. Irina pushed the door shut with her foot, then wrapped herself around Ric's arm.

Hammond took a deep breath and asked, "Well Major, what's the word?"

Before Ric could respond to Hammond's question, Irina grinned and cheerfully announced, "I defect."

The reactions to Irina's simple statement varied...

Teal'c looked at Ric and Irina with bland surprise. "Indeed."

Jeri snorted and shook his head. '_Women are gonna be the death of the boss yet._'

Sam sprayed a mouthful of coffee across the table and started coughing.

As Daniel gently patted Sam on the back, he looked at Hammond and asked, "Can she do that?"

General Hammond slumped in his chair. '_Maybe I can put that call to General Lebed off until next week._'

Naruto looked openly puzzled. "Defect?" He turned to Hinata. "Does that mean she's broken?" Hinata shrugged in reply and resisted the urge to giggle at the look on Ric's face.

Jack did a double-take, then smiled. "Works for me."

Sam finally found her voice. "You can't do that, the Cold War is over... we won, you lost, remember?"

Irina waved her hand dismissively in reply. "A minor detail. Besides, Prezident Putin doesn't agree with you... on either of your points." Her face turned thoughtful as she looked at the walls and the ceiling. "Blin!" Looking about, she quickly added, "I didn't say that."

Hammond sat up with a scowl, tapping his pen on the table, his face mirroring his mood. "Anything to add to _that_, Major?"

'_Damn... oh well, here we go._' Ric gave Irina a sidelong glance and replied, "She's staying, sir. No matter what, or where I go. Captain Lebed has made it unmistakably clear to me that she's with me... and is under no illusions as to what that may cost her." Irina nodded vigorously in agreement.

Ric gently detached her arm and came to attention. "I take full responsibility for her actions, present and future. Furthermore, I pledge to you that her conduct will not hinder any ongoing plans or operations. And yes sir..." Ric locked eyes with General Hammond. "...I know I'm staking my commission, career, _and_ prison time on that pledge."

Hammond blinked in surprise. '_I should have seen that coming._' He pondered the situation at hand. '_Hmm... if she goes with him to Konoha, then anything she learns about chakra will stay under our control._' He also noticed the sudden shift in Captain Lebed's mood after Von Krieger uttered the final portion of his promise... her flippant mien had vanished.

She too, straightened and faced him... and gripped Von Krieger's hand. '_I hope for his sake that she's not playing him._' He looked down at his notes and focused of the gate address... PX3-375. Hammond looked up and half-smiled. '_Perhaps a pre-test is in order._'

Irina muttered, "Darling, I don't like that smile... people get sent to Lavrentiya with that kind of smile."

Ric searched his memory of Russian geography, then muttered back, "That wouldn't be so bad, it's just a long walk across the Bering ice pack to Alaska, and home."

Hammond broadened that smile. "Alright, I'll accept that pledge of good conduct, Major. And, while you two were out, there was a discussion concerning the incident at the airport. Since Captain Lebed is interested in knowing more about what happened, it was decided that a follow-up mission was in order. I'll consider this mission a preliminary test of her suitability, and worth, to SGC."

Ric felt Irina tense up and put his hand in a death-grip. At SGC, a mission meant only one thing... '_Rut Roh._' He didn't have to look at Irina to judge her mood; like she had said earlier, he could feel her heart. '_I need to get in front of this. I have get her over this wall or it's all over... she'll get sent back, and he's waiting for her._' Ric felt Mr. Chakra begin to stir, grabbed it by the neck, and charged forward. '_It's time to take control of this goat rope._'

"General Hammond, did I understand you correctly? You labeled this as a follow-up mission, right?" Ric's voice captured the attention of everyone in the room.

Hammond, and anybody facing Von Krieger, saw the same thing... the color of his irises beginning to churn. Mastering his shock, Hammond replied, "Yes Major, that's correct. You, Captain Lebed, and select members of SG1 will be going back to PX3-375."

'_Is he using his chakra to modify his voice?_' Hinata spoke up. "It's a very pretty place." She could easily sense Irina's mood, and it honestly puzzled her. '_Why is she so frightened?_' "And it's where Akarumu's Temple is."

Naruto resting his chin on the table, hadn't looked up yet. "Except for the temple... it was boring. It didn't have _any_ cool monsters to fight, or anything."

'_Bless you, Naruto._' Jack briefly smiled. '_While Naruto and Hinata are gone, whoever's going on the 'gate test can get ready without them finding out._' "General, we should have a follow-up meeting to decide who's going." Jack glanced at Ric. '_Oh good, his eyes have settled down._'

Hammond nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea, Colonel O'Neill. Why don't you stay behind and we'll discuss it further."

Ric relaxed as he sensed Irina's level of anxiety begin to drop... the death grip on his hand relaxed. He whispered, "We'll do this together."

Irina gently squeezed his hand in reply, she whispered back, "I get a big gun... and grenades."

Ric chucked at that. "Yes dear."

===April 15, 7:50 AM, Gate Room, SGC===

"You look good, Naruto." Jack motioned for him to do turn-about. "I told you that they'd find a jumpsuit in your size." Jack leaned down, pushed the bill of his patrol cap back, and gave him a once over. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you've gotten taller."

Naruto grinned proudly. "Janet-sensei says I've gained an inch and a half since my first exam." He adjusted his utility vest and switched on his comm unit. Even his thigh holsters had been replaced with slightly larger ones, made of black ballistic nylon and secured with straps and plastic buckles.

"Must be all that cheese you've been eating." Jeri replied, then looked about as he shouldered a Remington 870 Express Tactical. "Where's Hinata?"

"She's right here." Ric announced, walking into the gate room with Irina, leading a hesitant Hinata by the hand. Naruto's face went blank as he focused on Hinata. To (almost) everyone's surprise, she had ditched her over-sized jacket, and was wearing a jumpsuit and vest like everyone else. Ric, among others, easily noticed the look on Naruto's face. While her... assets were covered by the vest, it was fairly obvious that her chest had some heft, much like Irina's.

Hinata swallowed her timidity, induced by the form-fitting jump suit, looked at the assembled group and asked, "Where's Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c?" As she adjusted her fake glasses, she watched Naruto out of the corner of her eye, secretly enjoying his stunned look. '_Sam was right, it did get his attention._'

Jack took a breath and replied, "Sam was asked to do some... science stuff." Naruto broke off his staring at Hinata and snickered at that, Jack never tired of poking fun at Sam's love of science, gadgets and other such things. "Daniel's engaged in some research that General Hammond needs ASAP; and, Teal'c is helping Sam, some of the stuff she's messing with is kinda heavy."

Naruto studied Jack for a moment and nodded to himself. Technically, everything Jack had said was absolutely true... he simply omitted the most important detail, that Sam and Daniel were getting ready for the 'gate test tomorrow, and SGC's first contact with Konoha. 

Jeri followed up on Jack's set-up. "By the way, I've got a surprise for both of you. General Hammond has authorized some special training, and you'll be spending tomorrow away from SGC to get it."

Naruto and Hinata looked pleasantly surprised at the news. Naruto asked first, "You mean we get to go outside again?" Hinata also had an eager smile; their visit to Ric's family lodge had reminded her how much she missed seeing the open sky, and the sights and scents of nature.

Jeri grinned. "Yup, we're gonna take a little trip, and visit an old friend of mine. He's going to help me with your training."

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked eagerly, practically bouncing in anticipation.

Jeri wagged his finger in response. "It's a surprise, but I promise to tell you when we stop for lunch on this planet we're going to." He tousled Naruto's hair to chase away his frown.

As the pair of nins chatted with Jeri, Jack went over to Ric and Irina. As he looked them over, Jack shook his head. "We're not going to a war, you know." Ric was carrying an M203 with a bandoleer of 40mm grenades, and his P226 on his right hip. Irina was carrying an M4, several grenades of different types, and an M9 pistol. Both were dressed in jumpsuit and vest outfits; like Jack, Ric was wearing a patrol cap, Irina had arranged her hair into a crown braid, covered with a triangle bandage, converted into a head scarf.

Ric looked at Jack and shrugged. "She loves to accessorize." Irina gave a him a firm hip-bump as a retort.

Jack successfully resisted the urge to laugh and looked at Irina. "It really is a nice place, you know... pretty, and peaceful too."

Irina gave Jack a dubious look and replied, "So are the Caucasus... until you go into the wrong valley." She looked at the Stargate and added, "Only a idiot uses his own hand to wake a sleeping bear."

Ric gave Jack a quirky smile. "She's got you there, my friend."

Jack shook his head and sighed, then motioned for everyone to gather up. As they formed up, Jack commented on the pump shotgun Jeri was cradling in his arms. "Where's your P90, Sergeant Hayes?"

Jeri gave Jack a knowledgeable smile. "Since we ain't going into injun' country, this works better on hungry critters, and snakes; rifled slugs for the big'uns, triple 'aught for the two legged ones, single 'aught buck for the smaller ones." He pointed at the different colored, spare 12 gauge shells on his vest: black, green, and red. Jeri hefted the shotgun and added, "This ain't Jeanie, but it'll do... 'sides, the SP's won't miss it for a day hike."

Jack raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Jeanie?"

Ric smirked. "Sergeant Hayes has a habit of naming his favorite guns; Jeanie is one of his favorites, a Model 97 Winchester trench broom... she's a real prize, and a lucky find." Ric smiled slyly and added, "Wait until our personal equipment... and other stuff finally gets here, then you'll understand."

Jack noted the smiles on the Green Berets faces and asked, "Just how much stuff are we talking about?" Their smiles grew wider in response. "Does the General know about this?" Ric and Jeri's smiles morphed into evil grins as they nodded. "Let me guess, he didn't ask for a list, did he?" Ric and Jeri shook their heads in reply. Jack sighed and pointed at the Stargate. "Let's get going, we can talk on the other side."

===April 15, 3:45 PM, Sebaku Household, Suna===

Temari halted as she entered the large sitting room. "I really wish you'd play with your puppets elsewhere, Kankuro."

He looked up from the large, patterned rug he was sitting on... all about him were pieces of Black Ant, broken down into its major components. Kankuro waved his hand dismissively. "Feh, it's not like we have a mob of visitors looking for a spot to sit down." He picked up one of the puppet's six arms and tinkered with its needle launcher.

Temari picked her away around the pieces to her favorite chair. "You haven't seen Gaara, have you?"

Kankuro snorted. "No." He picked up a small screwdriver and waved it about. "And I'm content enough with knowing that he's _not_ brooding over who to kill next." He gave Temari an annoyed look. "Do you have any idea what it was like being alone with him while you're having a good time in Konoha?" Kankuro finished his adjustments and set the arm down. "I don't know what you told him, but at least he settled down... watching him talk to his favorite cactus was starting to creep me out." He picked up a different arm and began adjusting it.

Temari looked up from the scroll she was reading. "What good time? You didn't have to face the Hokage and ask her about Naruto." She smirked and added, "Besides, I think you're more upset that Gaara has more cute little kunoichi's swarming around him than you can ever hope for."

Kankuro's right eye began to twitch; he sneered at Temari. "Like you have an abundance of guys begging for your attention."

"They're not staying away because their fear, or awe of you." Temari quipped back.

"I agree." Both of them went silent and looked at Gaara, standing at the entrance to the room. "I'm going to Konoha in 2 days." Gaara announced. "Temari, make arrangements with the Hokage for our stay there; Kankuro, you'll remain here to see to the interests of the Sebaku Clan... and to deal with the Council; I give you full authority to act in my stead."

As Gaara turned to leave he added, "Temari, select a party of shinobi to accompany us. It's time for Suna to return to Konoha for the right reasons... we need to restore our friendship with the leaf." That done, Gaara walked upstairs holding a small potted cactus.

Both of Gaara's older siblings waited for several moments to pass before breaking their silence. Kankuro went first. "What the hell was that all about?" He began quickly reassembling Black Crow. "And why are you going instead of me?"

Temari shrugged. "Beats me." From behind her scroll, she smiled. '_I don't know what was in that scroll Tsunade gave me, but that was the most Gaara's said in ages._' She rolled up her scroll, stood up, and replied with a smile, "Besides, I would think that you'd jump at the chance to be clan lord... girls _love_ powerful men you know."

A twisted smile appeared on Kankuro's face. "Yes they do... I like this plan, this is good plan."

'_Good luck with that, junior brother._' Temari walked from the room with a grin. '_Hmm... now who should I pick to go with little brother and me._'

===110 minutes after arriving, PX3-375===

"So, are you disappointed that nothing's tried to eat us yet?" Ric quietly asked Irina.

Her eyes scanned the underbrush around them. "The day isn't over yet." Irina muttered.

"Other than some odd-looking critters looking us over... I've been to _way_ scarier places than here." Jeri commented. "Heck, this place looks more like home than not... 'cept it's flatter."

Jack looked about. "I haven't seen anything." He added with a cautious tone, "What kind of animals, Sergeant?"

Jeri chuckled. "If you had spent as many years as I have hunting for dinner, sir, you'd noticed them by now." He pointed at a tree with his shotgun. "Take that lil' feller up there... on the big left-side branch." Jack, Ric, and Irina looked up; Naruto and Hinata had gotten permission to run ahead to the temple.

Jack spotted the animal in question. "Well _that's_ different... it looks like a cross between a squirrel and a weasel." Jack glanced back at Irina and grinned. "Maybe it has large, sharp, pointy teeth." He commented with an odd accent as he made a biting gesture with his hands. The look on Irina's face showed that she was clearly not amused by Jack's Holy Grail reference.

Jeri laughed, causing the animal to scurry up the tree with considerable speed. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that one, unless we get between it, and it's babies." Jeri thought about it for a moment and added, "A _squeasel_..." He nodded to himself. "...that's a proper enough name. Anyway, there's bigger critters out and about." He looked at Jack. "When we crossed that little stream a ways back, I noticed _a bunch_ of different critter prints in the mud on both sides."

Jack scratched his cheek and remembered Hayes asking for a halt while wandered down the stream and back. "Naruto did say that he saw animals the first time we came here, nothing that got him terribly excited mind you."

Jeri nodded. "That sounds about right, considering what I saw."

"What kind of animals?" Irina asked.

Ric smiled at her tone, he could tell that the tension she had bottled up inside her was slowly bleeding away. '_I hope the rest of day goes like this, it'll make things easier tomorrow._'

Jeri frowned thoughtfully for a several moments before replying. "Mind you, they're not prefect matches, but I saw what looked like tracks for somethin' dog-like, then there were marks that reminded me of deer tracks... but a tad bigger, sorta like a young reindeer. And then there was the other tracks..." Jeri nodded to himself. "...they definitely belonged to a cat-like critter."

"How big?" The edge came back into Irina's voice.

"Hmm... 'bout the size of a lynx, or thereabouts." Jeri's eyes narrowed. "I've seen the tracks of bigger cats... cougar, leopard, and tiger. I know my critters, I'd be way more cautious around a cranky barn-cat than whatever stopped for a drink at that stream."

"Why is that?" Jack asked, openly curious; he made mental note to ask later where Hayes had been to see tiger tracks.

"Cats that size, and larger, tend to be solitary... 'cept for lions and such. They're smart, curious, and usually don't tangle with other critters bigger than them when hunting for supper... with the exception of the really big cats." Jeri fell silent and carefully looked about. "Nah, if that one is around us, it might be following us hoping for a feed, or it'll move on."

Jack chuckled. "I don't think I'll be sharing my MRE with it, I don't wanna get accused by PETA of animal cruelty."

All save Irina laughed at that. She asked, "What did you mean, feed off of us?"

Jeri smiled and replied, "Well... if it figures we're predators, it'll follow us hoping we'll make a kill, then move in afterwards to help itself to what's left over... food _is_ food, and they ain't that picky." Irina mulled over that and nodded in agreement. Jeri added, "At any rate, we should get a move on, Naruto and Hinata will begin to wonder if we fell down a hole or somethin'."

Jack snorted with amusement. "True enough. Let's go."

Ric reached for his comm unit. "I'll give them a call to let them know we're almost there."

===Near Akarumu's Temple===

Naruto stopped walking about in a circle. "What are we going to tell them?"

Hinata looked up from the log she was sitting on. "We tell them the truth."

"But it doesn't make any sense... I think." Naruto start walking again and mumbled, "Maybe she's mad at us."

Hinata shook her head in disbelief. "Naruto, why in Kami's name would Akarumu-sama be upset with us?" '_You're smarter than that Naruto... think it through._'

Naruto froze in place. "It still doesn't make any sense... my chakra opened the seal last time, it _should_ have worked again."

"You got that fuinjutsu scroll from her temple, what does it say about situations like this?" Hinata asked.

Naruto stopped, sat down with a thump, and crossed his legs. He replied softly, "Let me think about it." After several minutes of silence, except for the rustling of the leaves, Naruto sighed and stood up. "Sorry Hinata, I have been studying it, but haven't read that far into it..." His head sunk to his chin. "...and I can't understand some of the words." He looked back at the temple and added softly, "Ero-sensei would know what to do, but he's not here."

Hinata's reply was cut off by a burst of static from both their two-ways, followed by Ric's voice. "_Sorry it's taking so long, but we're about 15 minutes away from your location, over._" Hinata and Naruto exchanged glances before Naruto reached up pushed the talk button. "Understood. We're here... and waiting, over."

"_Roger that, out._"

===10:20 AM, PX3-375===

Jack noticed the huge tree first, then Naruto and Hinata sitting nearby. "There they are."

Jeri gave Ric a sideways look, they had briefly discussed the tone in Naruto's voice after making contact with him, in Japanese, ending the chat with Ric's final comment, "Let's wait and see." Jeri silently considered Naruto's mood, '_Something's got him down, hopefully it's nothing too serious._'

Irina looked about with a wary smile. "This is the place? All I see are trees."

"The temple is below ground, the entrance is hidden in the base of that huge tree." Jack replied. "Now that I think about it, that's not quite right, if I had to guess, I'd say that the tree grew up around the entrance... it's in a hollow at the base."

Jeri looked in the direction of the tree and whistled appreciatively. "Then it's been there for quite a while. A tree that size would take a few hundred of years to get that big, at least."

Irina glanced at Ric, she had noticed that the closer they got to where the youngsters were, his pace was slowing. She asked in Russian, "_What's wrong, darling?_"

Ric came to a halt. He replied, "_Can't you feel it?_" Then added in English, "I don't know why, but this place seems familiar to me."

Jack and Jeri stopped in their tracks and turned around; Jack asked, "Come again?"

Ric closed his eyes and attempted to chase down the source of his nostalgia... after a minute or so, his eyes opened. "Sorry Jack, I can't explain why... but this clearing, and that tree, is in my head."

"He's right in one respect Colonel O'Neill, I'm feeling something too." Jeri looked back and noticed Naruto and Hinata coming towards them. "This place has a serious juju vibe to it... don't you feel it sir?"

Irina listened to conversation between the 3 men, mulling over Ric's question to her. Via her inexplicable link to him, she could feel his confusion, and something... else. Her eyes flashed from Ric, to the tree, then to the approaching youngsters; like her darling, Irina closed her eyes and focused her senses inward...

Likewise, Jack, who was still adjusting his sense of self around his awakened chakra, fell silent and began to reach outward. "Whoa!" Jack took a half-step backwards. "What the..." Then he realized that Ric's girlfriend was standing within two arms-length of him. Jack looked at the appraising stare she was giving him. '_Crap._'

Pivoting for quick reset of the situation, Jack looked at the approaching pair of nins and asked, "Hey Naruto, what's the good word?" The look on Naruto's face is not what Jack wanted to see.

"We can't get in... the door won't open for me, or Hinata." Naruto replied with a worried frown. 

"Say what?" Jack replied.

Not to be ignored, Irina hefted her M4 and added, "Excuse me. I have some questions I'd like answered... _now_." She turned to face Ric. "You've asked me to trust you, darling, and I do." Everyone present sensed her rising temper. "But, I'd like some trust in return... I understand that there are problems..." She fixed her pale blue eyes on Jack. "...but this situation _cannot_ go on."

Irina pointed the muzzle of her M4 at the ground, much to Jack's relief, and added, "Something has happened to me, I know this to be so. I know that those two..." She pointed a finger at Naruto and Hinata. "...are not what they seem to be. Nothing here is what it seems to be, and I am tired of being treated like a... pustyshka."

Jack glanced at Jeri. "A what?"

Jeri muttered back, "An air head."

"Remind me to not get her mad at me." Jack added quietly. Jeri nodded in agreement.

"Ano... Irina-san." Hinata stepped forward, then halted when Ric held up his hand.

"A moment, Hinata-dono." He gave her a nod then turned to face Irina. "You missed one, Irinya." Her eyebrow went up. "I'm not what I seem to be, either."

"Ric, I don't think this right time..." Jack broke in, then took a step back, as did Hinata and Naruto... everyone there saw the same thing, Ric's shadow, marking his presence in the sunny clearing, suddenly flared to triple its original size, then shrunk back.

Naruto and Hinata traded looks of surprise... then Naruto grinned. "That's so awesome... I didn't know you were a Nara, Ric!"

Hinata, still focused on Ric's shadow, watched it flicker, then change shape and begin moving... looking for all the world like flames coming from a large camp fire. She looked up and saw the color in Ric's eyes churning and... remembered. She took a step back and began to shiver. Hinata whispered, "The shadow men."

Naruto smile faded as he saw the look of confusion, tinged with fear, on Hinata's face. "The who?"

Hinata took a second step backwards and softly replied. "In our clan, when children behave badly, they're told that the shadow men would come... and carry them away if they didn't behave. When things disappear... we were told that the shadow men did it. " Hinata hugged herself. "No Naruto, he's _not_ a Nara..." Her voice dropped off.

Jack looked about at everyone, and noted the stony look on Jeri's face. "You've seen this before, haven't you?"

Jeri nodded. "Yup, but now's not the time to talk about it."

Jack focused on Hinata. "Yeah. I think you're right... Hinata looks like she's seen the boogeyman."

Jeri glanced at her face. '_I think she has._'

=== April 15, 4:20 PM, KSC, Break Room 2===

Kurenai walked up to the table where the younger kunoichi was sitting, her head down on her crossed arms, resting. '_She worked so hard today... getting ready for tomorrow._' She sat the cup in her left hand on the table next to her. "Tea?"

Sakura raised her head and smiled tiredly. "Thank you Kurenai-san... I could use it." She took a sip and sighed as Kurenai sat down across from her. The warmth from the tea igniting her mind again, she glanced at the doorway nervously. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow slightly, then nodded. "Of course Sakura-kun."

"What would you do if... someone from Kakashi-sensei's past reappeared, someone he had feelings for." Sakura bit her lip, then gripped her cup tightly. "Except it turns out that those feelings hadn't gone away... but you could tell that he still had feelings for you, and her." Sakura turned away to hide her embarrassment. Her inner Sakura yelled, '_That was so fucking lame._'

Kurenai masked a smile with her own cup. After a brief, awkward silence she replied, "That's actually a good question." Her smile faded as she recalled a young kunoichi named Rin. She had never talked about it with Kakashi, but she knew about his days with Team Minato, and how that had ended... very badly. She also remembered the adoring looks Rin had given him, when he wasn't looking at her... it had been a rare source of amusement amongst her peers, some of them with their own crushes on the young masked shinobi, during the dark days of the Third Shinobi War.

And, even though Rin had been declared dead, a shinobi suddenly reappearing, like a ghost, after a long-term S-Ranked mission, where a faked death or being declared dead or missing had been part of their cover, was _not_ an impossibility. It had happened in the past... and now that Sakura had raised the point, the question gained purchase in the back of her mind. '_What would I do?_'

"Not to dodge the question, but I suppose it would depend on who it was, and the circumstances. It would be an easy question to answer if that person had rejected, or abandoned Kakashi... as an example, mind you." Kurenai openly sighed. "Unfortunately, life isn't simple, or easy..." Kurenai gently patted Sakura's arm. "...for a shinobi."

Sakura had returned her gaze to Kurenai as she spoke. She noted with interest, that the answer had been earnest, and free of any teasing, something she had half expected. Sakura nodded, "You're right about that... the not easy part."

Kurenai continued on after glancing at the entrance to the room. "I'm guessing your question revolves around your teammate, that you finally realized you have feelings for, and my student." Kurenai added a smile as Sakura nervously nodded in reply. She took a sip of her own tea before continuing, "However, if your intention is to do something dishonorable to separate them."

Kurenai's face became stern. "Not only will you lose Naruto forever as a teammate and friend, but you'll probably upset Kakashi in the bargain... and worst of all... you'll personally offend my honor as a woman, a kunoichi, and Hinata-chan's surrogate mother." Kurenai paused and softened her gaze. "But the Sakura sitting with me wouldn't do something like that, would she?"

Sakura pushed past her fears and shook her head. "No Kurenai-san, I wouldn't. I'm ashamed to admit it, but the old Sakura _would_ of done that, but I promise you that I have no intention of disgracing myself that fashion. I learned my lesson the hard way... Ino is helping me, but I'd like to ask if you'd give me some advice on how to... um..." Sakura said, then got stuck trying to think of the right words.

Kurenai smiled as she figured out Sakura's problem. "No, I see your dilemma... you want to compete with Hinata for Naruto's heart, but you're afraid it's too late... _and_ you have the added problem of how he remembers the Sakura that was, _not_ the one that is, now." Her expression softened further, becoming motherly. "It pains me to say this to such a bright young kunoichi as you... but it may be too late to claim that special place in Naruto's heart you're seeking..." She saw Sakura's emotional mask start to crack. "But that doesn't mean you can't still have him... in the ways you want." Kurenai added with a small perverted smirk.

Sakura froze at Kurenai's mention her dream was lost... then she saw a familiar look on Kurenai's face; it was like Ino's during their chat. "You mean... _share_ Naruto with Hinata?" But she'd never..." Her confusion at Kurenai's improbable, at least for her, scenario shut her response down.

Kurenai resisted the urge to laugh. '_Hinata will be the one to get past... she loves him fiercely, almost too much for a kunoichi, and she'll see you as a thief, by default._' She put that thought aside. "Never say never, Sakura-chan. I know Hinata-chan, she won't be ready for that... yet, but if you let them see the Sakura you are now, earn their respect and trust... you _could_ earn their love as well." Kurenai replied then quietly sighed. "Of course, they have to be willing to let you in _and_ be open to the idea."

Sakura sighed, thought a moment and nodded. "If you're right and I'm too late to win Naruto's heart alone... I can accept sharing him. I'll do anything to have him back in my life." Sakura replied sincerely.

Kurenai smiled. "Good, now let's have some, age-appropriate girl talk about what you do know. And, your thoughts and expectations about the test... especially since _she's_ coming here."

===10:40 AM, PX3-375===

Naruto interposed himself between Ric and Hinata, "What's going on? Why is Hinata-chan frightened of you?" There was more confusion than anger in his voice. "And how can you do stuff that only Nara's can do?"

Ric's shadow had returned to its normal appearance... for what it was worth. Irina was standing motionless, her M4 laying on the ground; Jeri stood quietly ready, watching Naruto and Hinata at the edge of his vision, as was Jack. Ric replied calmly, "As to your first question, I truly have no idea whatsoever. And, if you think about it, your question might be more appropriate for Hinata than me. As to your other question, having _never_ seen what a Nara can do, let alone met one, I can't say." Ric politely pointed at Naruto. "You know far more about that subject than me."

Naruto weighed Ric's reply carefully... for all the time that he had known Ric, he had never sensed him tell a lie... it was _very_ un-shinobi like. This time was no different, although he could tell that Ric had left something unsaid. As to the other question, now that he thought about it... he had seen Shikamaru in action during the Chuunin Exams, fighting against Temari. What Ric had done with his shadow was nothing like what he recalled of that drawn-out contest, in fact, he had _never_ heard of a Nara making different shapes with their shadow...

Without prompting, the Kyuubi addressed him. "**He's speaking the truth, Naruto.**"

'_I know, but why is Hina-chan so scared of him?_'

The Kyuubi had a very good idea as to why the Hyuuga girl reacted the way she did, but she chose a different solution. "**Perhaps you should take his advice and ask Hinata why.**"

Before Naruto could follow up on that suggestion, Ric spoke first. "Hinata-dono, I have a question for you. Who is Kaminari? And, who is Nanami?"

Ric's questions provided Hinata with the focus she needed to finally slay the childish panic that had gripped her. '_NO... Ric is my friend; he has never shown me anything but kindness. I refuse to believe that he wishes to harm me._' "They are the names of 2 of the 6 Great Sages." She replied in a un-anxious voice.

"I see." Ric nodded to himself. "Do you know why Akarumu called me a child of Kaminari; and, more importantly, _why_ she called Irina a child of Nanami?"

Hinata shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ric-san. Nothing I was taught can answer those questions."

"Hmm..." He eyed Irina, still regaining her composure, and asked, "...do you have any non-Russians in your family tree?"

Irina shook her head slowly in reply. "Nyet... not that I've ever been told of."

Ric scratched his chin. "Then I'd say that the voice that healed you, knows something you don't." He looked at Hinata. "I'm going to out on a limb and say that Akarumu doesn't have a rep as a liar,..." He flicked a glance at Naruto. "...or a prankster." Naruto responded with a 'who, me?' look of innocence.

Hinata shook her head vigorously. "Akarumu-sama wouldn't lie about something like that... ever. I'm certain of it."

"Well, and there we are... no map, no compass, and no clues." Ric nodded to himself. '_It looks like I'll have to go elsewhere to find out._'

Jack and Jeri finally relaxed; Jack muttered, "That ended well." Jeri nodded in agreement.

"Ne ne, Ric-san... do you know any other cool jutsus?" Naruto asked with an eager grin... he was returning to his usual self.

Ric chuckled and lightly bopped Naruto on the head. "One thing at a time, Naruto. Besides, I think Hinata's had enough excitement for one day; I need her to help me explain things to Irina." He looked at Irina. "You do want to know more, right?" Irina nodded. "And, we need to figure out why..." He pointed at the huge tree. "...somebody's not answering a knock at the door."

Jack rubbed his hands together. "That's sounds like a great idea! Who's up for an early lunch?"

Naruto waved his hand and grinned. "I am... besides, Jeri-sensei promised to tell us about the surprise, ne?"

Jeri nodded. "Yup, a promise is a promise... _after_ you finish your MRE."

Jack grimaced at Jeri. "Damn, Sarge... that's harsh."

Jeri smiled playfully, "Nonsense Colonel... I've been making some deals with folks in supply." Jeri took off a small rucksack and set it on the ground. "Nuthin' but the best for us."

Jack gave Jeri a dubious look. "Are you sure that best and MRE belong in the same sentence?"

Jeri shrugged. "Most of ain't too bad... nuthin' a lil' hot sauce can't fix. 

Irina stopped wiping her M4 and spit on the ground. "I get you Russian army rations... then you learn what bad is."

Jack looked about and said, "Let's go over to the big tree, we can eat, and chat over there."

===April 15, 5:40 PM, Inuzuka Household, Konoha===

Tsume set down her cup of tea. "Kiba, stop eating, I have something important to tell you."

Kiba swallowed a mouthful of chicken fried rice and set down his spoon; even Hana paused for a moment before continuing, Tsume rarely spoke when eating... drinking was another matter. "What is it, mom?" He quietly hoped that she had gotten his IMO status lifted.

"You're to report to the Hokage's office tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock, on time and without fail, understood?" She saw the eager look on his face and added, "This is important business, you _will_ be representing our clan when you go... you understand what that means, I trust?"

Kiba grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Sure, mom."

"Sit up straight in your chair, Kiba." Tsume growled back. "This is _very_ important. If you make the clan look bad, I swear to Kami that you'll be doing D-Ranks until the next Chuunin Exam."

Akamaru whined and pawed Kiba's leg; he barked out, "**I wanna go outside the walls again.**" Kiba went pale at Tsume's threat and sat up, he replied tonelessly, "Yes mother, I understand."

Hana could tell that Tsume wasn't joking. '_She's been on edge for a week now... and been in the clan vault 3 times. She hasn't gone into the vault but once since my first heat._' Hana, like many of her peers knew something was going on in Konoha, but as proper shinobi, they all kept their comments and speculations to the most private of settings, and only with the closest of friends. "He's a man now, mother, you should treat him as such... and trust him." Hana quietly commented. Kiba's look of gratitude was short-lived.

"Hah, he doesn't even have a proper bitch to call his own." Tsume scowled in reply. Hana discreetly frowned as she watched Kiba shrink in his chair. Tsume added, "Do right by the clan tomorrow and I'll think better of you... now finish your dinner."

Kiba continued eating, but without his previous gusto.

===April 15, 6:45 PM, Nara Household, Konoha===

Shikamaru glanced across the shogi board. '_Something is bothering pops... his Silver General is in danger, and he's done nothing to safeguard it._' He moved a Rook to provoke a reaction. '_He's also been spending a lot of time in the clan vault... and he's stopped discussing the Stargate with me too._' Shikamaru had enjoyed his talks over the troublesome object, and the contents of the scrolls he had gotten from Jackson-sensei. He briefly grinned at that, Shiho lived for the next scroll from him, she'd even started wearing different outfits to work... he suspected the hand of Ino in that change. '_Hmm... she's stopped coming by the last few days, I wonder what's happened with her?_'

"I need you to stand in for me tomorrow." Shikaku announced out of the blue.

Shikamaru visibly raised an eyebrow. He glanced into the house before answering, mom was nowhere in sight. "_It's_ happening tomorrow."

Shikaku replied, "Yes, and you'll be the representative for the Nara's on that day."

Shikamaru raised the other eyebrow. "You're the head of our clan."

Shikaku sighed and stood up. "And you're the heir. For what is coming, that will the task of your generation, not mine."

Shikamaru openly frowned. "You're a long way off from retiring, yet."

"That may be so, but you're the future, I'm the past." Shikaku replied.

Shikamaru folded his arms across his chest. "If I didn't know better, I'd suspect that you think it's too bothersome to deal with." '_Something is bothering him... but what?_'

"I've got some important clan business to see to, someone has to deal with it." Shikaku tersely, then added, "Just give me a complete report of what happened, and who came through the 'gate."

'_Hmm... the truth is slowly making an appearance. He emphasized, ever so slightly, the word who._' Shikamaru gave his father a thin smile. "Is there anything special that I should note?"

"Everything, and everyone." Shikaku replied.

"I'll do that." Shikamaru answered with a nod. '_This is so troublesome._'

===12:52 AM, PX3-375===

"So... that's about it. Any questions?" Ric leaned back against a tree and lit a cigarette. He had brought Irina up to speed rather than Jack... half of their conversation had been in Russian to get things across to her.

Irina stared at Ric, then shifted her gaze to everyone around her. She pointed at Naruto and Hinata. "And they are ninjas?" Both the nins nodded and smiled in reply. Irina looked over at Ric. "And you are ninja too?"

"I don't think so." Ric replied, ignoring the snicker coming from Naruto and the giggle from Hinata.

Irina noted the nins reaction and asked, "So what else can you do... besides make shapes with your shadow?"

Jack spoke up. "We're still learning stuff, but some of us..." He looked at Ric. "... are better at it than the rest, except for our friends here." Jack gave Naruto a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Irina gave Ric a questioning look. He sighed and put his smoke down. "Okay, just this once." Ric sat up, closed his eyes, and after a moment of thought, opened his eyes and smiled. A large puff of smoke erupted, and as it dispersed... a very large white wolf with gray eyes was sitting where Ric was. Irina scooted away from Ric's altered appearance out of pure reflex, her eyes wide with surprise.

Jack gave her an offhand smile, "You asked for it."

After a few seconds of hesitation, Irina reached out and touched Ric's henge'd form; she pressed her hand against the fur. "It feels so soft... it's _real_." Then she squealed when the Ric-wolf licked her face, "Stop that!" As she wiped her face with her sleeve, there was a second puff of smoke... and Ric reappeared with a sly smile on his face.

Naruto was laughing so hard, tears were falling from his eyes; Hinata hid her wide smile behind her hands. Jeri chuckled and gave Ric a thumbs-up.

Jack snorted and shook his head. "It's a good thing Sam wasn't here to see that, she'd have a fit."

Irina smirked. "Maybe if he humped her leg she'd calm down." Jack's face went blank... then he fell over laughing. Hinata's face got as red as possible, without fainting. Ric just sighed and looked up into the trees.

Jeri just shook his head, and asked, "So kids, do you want to know what we're doing tomorrow?" In an eye-blink, Naruto was kneeling in front of Jeri with a big smile on his face. "I'll take that as a yes." Naruto nodded in reply. "Okay... now then, do you remember what I promised you about 3 weeks back?" Naruto thought about it for several moments then got a foxy grin on his face. "You remembered, didn't ya?" Naruto nodded vigorously. "That's right... it's ka-boom time."

Jack froze with surprise. "You're mixing Naruto and high explosives? Does Hammond know about this?"

Ric chuckled. "He okay'ed it... reluctantly. Besides, Hinata will be there to keep an eye on him... and she's a better listener." Ric smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry Jack, they'll have a good time, get outdoors again, and they'll start to learn the high art of demolitions... everybody wins. Besides, what could go wrong?" The look of Jack's face spoke volumes.

"Worrywart." Ric replied and reached for his backpack. "And I have a surprise of my own..." He reached into the pack and pulled out the hand recorder he had bought at the mall. "...I forget to give this to you guys in all the excitement that Sunday; he quietly pushed the record button.

Hinata scooted over to Ric and looked at the recorder. "What does it do?" Rick's response was to push a couple of buttons... and Hinata's voice came out of the small speaker, repeating what she just said; her eyes lit up with delight.

Ric held the recorder up. "With this, you can send voice messages back home; you guys will get one, the other one will get sent to Konoha, and you can trade tapes..." Ric removed the mini-cassette from the recorder and held it up. "...back and forth." He put cassette back in and handed the recorder to Hinata, then pulled a second recorder out. "This one will be going to Konoha, but for today you'll each have your own. It'll save time as you make your own messages."

Hinata gave Ric a Naruto-sized smile. "Please teach me how to use it... I'd like to make some messages later on."

Naruto joined her. "Me too, please."

Ric smiled and asked, "Why not here, next to Akarumu's temple? We'll all stay here and you guys can go off by yourselves if you want to say anything private... to whomever." Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and nodded. Ric grinned and pulled out some extra mini-cassettes, and the instructions. "Okay, let's get started... I'll show what to do."

===April 15, 7:15 PM, half-way to Tanzaku-gai, Fire Nation===

Jiraiya looked westward as he munched on an over-sized pork bun, one of several that he had purchased at Matsumachi's as he departed Konoha. '_I've got about an hour's worth of daylight left._' He looked down at the open sealing scroll, picked up a second bun and balanced it on his knee, then deftly re-sealed the remaining buns into the scroll. Picking up the second bun, he alternated bites between them as he debated what do next. '_Even if I traveled all night, and didn't decode and read the message until got back... I'd still miss the test of the Stargate._'

The savory taste of the buns didn't improve his mood. '_Why did he send that message now?_' Jiraiya reviewed the tone, and content, of the messages he had gotten over the last 2 months concerning Akatsuki; and, the early arrival of the latest one... easily a week before he had expected it. '_Something's happening... he's hinted at unrest between certain members, not that that's news._' He snorted with amusement. '_I'm still surprised that half of them haven't killed each other by now. No, something else has happened, he wouldn't have used that code phrase for a minor event._'

Jiraiya finished the remaining bun and reached for a stoppered bamboo tube, filled with water. Jiraiya sighed as he hefted the simple canteen. '_No sense in worrying about it until I retrieve the message and decode it... no matter what I do, it won't change that fact that I had to leave her again, especially with something so important about to happen._' He briefly grinned. '_I so wanted to see Tsunade's face when the gaki came back through the 'gate._' He took a drink and put the tube back inside his jacket. '_Well, it can't be helped. Whatever I learn will doubtlessly concern Naruto too... and that's equally important._'

He stood up and began walking. '_There's a inn just down away's I can stop at. Maybe I'll get lucky and have another memory-dream to help me understand what's happening._' Jiraiya grinned and said aloud, "It doesn't hurt that the owner has 3 really cute daughter's... and isn't so bad looking herself; perhaps something will happen that'll inspire my writing. There's no point in being depressed about it... if I bring back good news, and Tsu-chan's finally calmed down, maybe she'll let me give her another massage."

Jiraiya began whistling as he headed towards the sunset.

===1:10 PM, PX3-375===

"Naruto?" Hinata walked around one of great tree's roots, making more noise than usual... both of them had separated to record their own private messages with the devices Ric had given them. "Are you finished?"

Naruto looked up, his eyes slightly red. "Yeah, I'm done." He held up 3 micro-cassettes cases.

Hinata had a fairly good idea why his eyes looked the way they did, and chose to ignore his appearance. She smiled faintly and replied, "I've only got 2 to send." Hinata looked in the direction where everyone else was waiting. "While I was alone, I started thinking about the temple, and why the door wouldn't open for us." She saw a frown reappear on Naruto's face and quickly added, "I think I know why."

"You do?" Naruto's face turned hopeful. "What do you think happened?"

Hinata sat down beside him and smiled. "I remembered what Akarumu said to Ric and Irina at the airport, when... that happened." She edged a little closer to Naruto. "And I thought about our previous trip here... and what happened inside the temple."

Naruto's face turned thoughtful. "Yeah, I remember you saying something about that, but you didn't tell me what Akarumu said." He gave Hinata a questioning look. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hinata looked at her hands. "I'm sorry... when Akarumu-sama spoke, it was to Irina-san, and Ric-san. At the time, I regarded those words as private, and I felt it was for them to reveal, or not."

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then patted her hand. "No, it's my fault. It was on me to ask them about it... but we were so busy with Ric's girlfriend, and everything."

Hinata gave him a forgiving smile. "It's okay. What matters is that we're talking about it now."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "I've been thinking too... about the temple and everything." He saw Hinata's encouraging smile and continued. "When we went in, Akarumu tested us, and after you... fought for me and everything, she gave us our stuff and let us walk out."

Hinata saw the look on Naruto's face and smiled. "Yes I did..." She had long forgiven Naruto for withholding the truth behind Akarumu's test. And after what had happened at the airport, she truly understood the wisdom behind Akarumu's tests for them... a sudden flash of insight hit her. "Naruto, I think I know why the door didn't open for us."

"You do?" He leaned closer to Hinata and grinned. "I knew you'd figure something out!" Without thinking, he kissed her on the cheek and shot to his feet... "I'll go tell Jack. This is great!"...and ran off.

Hinata touched her cheek as she watched Naruto speed off towards the other group. '_He kissed me._' She let out squeal of joy that would sent her father's eyebrows to the ceiling.

-x- (10 minutes later...)

"Are you sure about this?" Jack took a bite of his MRE oatmeal cookie.

"I'm reasonably certain of it, when Akarumu spoke to Irina-san, she said that the best path would lead back to her." Hinata replied.

"Hmm... that implies that her..." He nodded towards Irina. "...personal decisions mattered." Jeri added, "Sounds like common sense to me."

Jack nodded and spread his hands. "Irina chose to stay with Ric, and to come here." He pointed over his shoulder. "And there's the temple... Bingo."

Irina nodded in agreement and tapped the side of her head. "Da, truth."

"There's still the minor matter of the door refusing to open." Ric pointed out.

"When Naruto and I were talking,..." A minor blush appeared on Hinata's face. "...I remembered something from my lessons about the Sages. I was told that they 'walked with men in their dreams'. That's the reason why Ric-san said that this place seemed familiar to him, even though he had never been here before... he's the one that has to open the door, I'm sure of it."

"Except for the fact that I can't recall dreaming about this place." Ric swept his hand across the clearing. "Unless..." His face grew thoughtful, then said, "The vision of this place was implanted in me when we were... there."

Jack frowned and said, "There is one big problem though, from what Naruto said about that place, only a ninja could get to where they needed to go."

Naruto and Hinata nodded in agreement. Hinata looked at Ric with a tiny impish smile. "Somebody will have to become a ninja to get to the room we went to."

Ric snorted. "Then it's going to be awhile, there's no Ninjutsu for Dummies book for that gig... it takes years and years of training to be a real shinobi."

"Ano... Ric-san, that's not quite correct from our point of view." Hinata replied. "For us, being a basic shinobi means the capacity to mold chakra, and the ability to execute jutsus successfully. Yes, there is schooling for the basic skills and learning taijutsu, but everything comes down to the first two items, and you've proved you can do them... the basic 3 jutsus. After you've learned tree walking, then you'll know the absolute minimum skills.

Irina raised an eyebrow. "What is tree walking?"

Naruto gave Irina a foxy smile, then ran straight towards a nearby tree... and raced up the trunk. After he came to a halt, standing upside down on the first major tree branch, his grin widened and yelled down, "Does that answer your question?"

To almost everyone's surprise, Irina kept a neutral face as looked up at Naruto, gave Hinata a calculating look, then back up at Naruto and said, "Da." Then she looked at Ric and added, "Now I understand why your silly General try to play 'we have secret' game with me."

Jeri broke his thoughtful silence, "Y'all are missing something, I'm think 'in." Everyone looked at Jeri. "I read the report about y'or first visit here... Naruto _and_ Hinata had to go in to succeed."

Irina looked at Hinata and motioned for her to come closer... after Hinata complied, she said quietly, "You teach me to be ninja, I teach you..." Irina pointed at Naruto and gave Hinata a knowing smile. "...how to capture him, forever." Hinata thought about it for a second, before nodding in reply.

Jack spoke up, "Hey! That's not fair."

Irina gave Jack the same look a wolf gives a rabbit. "You foolish man. Women _never_ fight fair."

Naruto yelled down, "What are you all talking about?"

Jeri looked up at Naruto and said, "Y'or doom, son."

===April 16, 8:00 AM, Main Cafeteria, SGC===

"You know, it was a shame that Stanya had to go straight back to Russia. I think he would of liked our little trip yesterday." Ric sprinkled some pepper on his eggs.

"I know darling; he had hoped to say good-bye to you." Irina took a sip of her tea, then switched to Russian. "_So, what do you want me to do today?_"

"_Mostly stay out of trouble, be charming, keep an eye on Sam and Daniel, and observe the people who'll be observing you._" Ric stabbed a sausage link with his fork. "_After all, some of them might wind up being our neighbors._"

"_I can do all that, and perhaps I'll make some new friends for us._" Irina cut up her eggs and mixed them with the hash browns. "_And what will you be doing?_"

Ric drank some coffee then replied, "_I need to check things out, and I still have to investigate what happened to you. I need to find why she said that you have a link to a whole different world._"

Irina replied around a mouthful of food, "_I agree._"

Ric noticed Sam and Daniel approaching them and switched to English. "Our teammates are here." Ric flashed a smile at the newcomers, "Good morning. Is everything ready?"

Sam smiled back and sat down. "As ready as possible." She lowered her voice and added, "We have a complete tech crew standing by. The General has authorized the first non-weapons tech transfer; once I've surveyed what can be done, the crew will cross over and help with the set-up."

Daniel added, "I got the invitation done, but I'm not totally happy with it. My calligraphy could be better. Other than that, I've got the whole educational package done... everything from K to 12." Daniel dug into his oatmeal.

Ric offered, "If you want to, Daniel, I could look at the invitation. My shodo is fairly decent, but I'm without my best set of brushes."

Daniel washed down his oatmeal with some OJ. "That would be great, and if you need to, I've the tools you need."

"Not that I'm saying your work is bad, but you're right to be concerned. If Hinata is any indication, they take such things very seriously." Ric explained, "I was once told that the brush reveals the heart of the writer."

Irina put down her fork once her plate was empty; she asked Daniel, "Why are you not including college-level materials?"

Sam replied in his stead, "It's too much data, and it's better to assess their requirements directly, rather than guess what they'd like, or need." Sam frowned and added, "And we're not even sure what their tech level is. I've talking to Naruto and Hinata since they got here, and I _still_ can't get a solid handle on it."

Sam gave Irina a thoughtful look. "I can understand why Ric's going along... sorta, but not you."

Irina gave Sam a wolfish smile. "Weren't you listening the other day? Where darling goes, I go. If he has to fight, I fight with him." She leaned forward and added earnestly, "He is my... knyaz... nyet, my printz." Irina nodded to herself. "When you find a man worth killing and dying for, you will understand."

Sam's eyebrows went up. "You're crazy." Sam was only half joking.

Irina drew herself up. "No. I am Russian... and his woman."

Daniel looked at Ric and smiled. "That sounded pretty final."

Ric nodded and returned the smile, "Let's get going, we've got a busy day ahead of us."

===April 16, 8:45 AM, Ft. Carson, Colorado===

The drive from SGC to Fort Carson was surprisingly short, from Jeri's point of view. After a stop at a Waffle House along the way (and much pleading by Naruto) for a second breakfast, they entered the installation in a government-issue SUV. Driving through the picturesque Army post, they arrived at Butts Army Air Field... their first stop of the day.

===April 16, 9:45 AM, KSC, Gate Chamber===

Tsunade centered herself on the line of the shinobi she'd selected for this important moment. She stopped and reviewed them one last time... Kakashi, Kurenai, Anko, Hakumei, Shiho... calm as expected. Behind them, but no less important, stood Sakura and Shikamaru; and, added at the last moment... Kiba and his faithful nin-dog, Akamaru.

Given the circumstances, he was doing rather well; his restlessness was only natural for an Inuzuka. Their aggressiveness was their strength, and at the wrong time, a weakness; it took field experience, and discipline, to overcome their predilection for impatience, a problematic flaw in a shinobi. As to his other disadvantage, Tsunade could easily forgive that... the absence of a father-figure. That, was a factor totally beyond Kiba's control. Tsume's success as the Inuzuka's clan leader sprang from her being a hyper-alpha... an edge for leading a clan like hers, but a bad trait for a spouse. Tsunade's mouth twitched into a brief smile. '_And that won't change until the day she steps down._'

Tsunade considered Kiba as the best option and thankfully, the heir. Hana, though very intelligent, was not a good alternative. As Inuzuka's went, she was far too empathic and gentle; it worked well for her as a veterinarian, but not as leader of the Inuzuka's. Tsunade motioned for Kiba to approach her, as he got within arm's length, she smiled briefly and said, "I apologize for dropping you into this unprepared Kiba, but it couldn't be avoided."

Kiba bobbed his head in reply. "I understand Hokage-sama, I'm just glad to learn that Hinata-san is okay." Akamaru, peaking out of Kiba's hooded jacket, barked in agreement.

Tsunade gave him a friendly smile and motioned for him to return to his line of the gathered nins.

Tsunade put on her best 'Hokage face' and addressed everyone in the 'gate chamber. "Now then... I can't stress this strongly enough, if everything goes as planned today, the benefits to Konoha will be immeasurable. And, How Konoha regards itself, and is regarded by others, will change." '_Please Kami, let it be for the better._' "From this day forward, new things, new ideas, and new people will be amongst us... and as we adjust to the changes, remember that they will be adapting to us, as we adapt to them."

Tsunade took one step forward. "Show them forbearance as we adjust to each other. It is my hope that we can take the best of what comes our way, and they can do likewise; they're not god-like, and we aren't rude barbarians... we're just different from each other. How we come together _will_ become important as the other Hidden Villages begin approaching us, peacefully or otherwise. Because when that starts happening, and it will, we'll need each other's help to turn those moments to everyone's advantage."

Tsunade deliberately paused. "I'd rather have that outcome since the real alternative, if we fail, is a fourth shinobi war..." She looked at everyone in the chamber. "...and _nobody_ needs that."

Everyone nodded their agreement at Tsunade's point.

"We need to show them the best Konoha has, from myself as Hokage... to our newest Genin. I want them to return to their world with nothing but good things to say about Fire Country, Konoha... and it's shinobi in particular. I can't tell you now what it is, but if everything goes well, you'll all be rewarded in ways you can't imagine." Tsunade said with a grin. She knew it was a trip to Earth as her envoys... and maybe some time in the new KSC library, that was almost finished.

Sakura, Shiho and Kiba couldn't help but smile at that pronouncement; Shikamaru did his best to project an air of boredom in spite of the very un-Nara level of excitement he felt at the moment.

Tsunade looked up at the chamber's new gallery, populated with ANBU, she saw Neko move her arm and tap her wrist with her other hand; Tsunade acknowledged the sign and clapped her hands. "Stations everyone, it's almost time."

===9:43 AM, Fort Carson, Colorado===

Jeri grinned as he looked at Naruto and Hinata's faces as the MH-60G Pave Hawk wove its way through the landscape, the pilot eagerly showing his skill at NOE flying. Jeri shared a smile with the heli's crew chief... who made a hand sign, telling Jeri that the LZ was close at hand. '_Damn... I'd forgotten how much I miss this._' Jeri tapped the nin's legs and motioned that they were about to land.

===9:45 AM, Gate Room, SGC===

Sam looked over the line of pallets, all of them waiting to be transferred to Konoha. Satisfied that everything was in order, she looked up at the control room and gave General Hammond a thumbs-up. She looked at Daniel and asked, "Where are they? It's almost time."

Daniel adjusted his backpack and replied, "They'll be here, Ric mentioned something about putting a special bag together." He grinned and pointed with a nod. "They're here."

Sam followed Daniel's gaze... her eyebrows went up. "Major, we're going to say hello to our newest allies, not going to the OK Corral." Sam exclaimed.

Ric centered a large gym bag atop one of the loaded pallets before replying. Both he and Irina were carrying M249 SAW's, with the 200 round cloth ammo bags, their vests covered with grenades and other bits of portable mayhem. Ric gave Sam a neutral look and replied, "Major Carter, how many ambushes have you walked into?"

Sam gaped for a brief moment. "More than a few since I came here. What's your point?"

Ric smiled back. "Well, so have I, and I've also walked into more than my fair share of strange places that _looked_ peaceful... until all hell broke loose." He held up a hand to stop Sam's reply. "I'm sincerely hoping that it'll all be smiles and handshakes. But, the reason why I'm still alive is because I _don't_ count on that happening every single time."

Irina nodded in agreement. "Verify, then trust... maybe."

Ric noted the looks on Sam and Daniel's faces. He waved his hand and said, "It's a Russian thing... just roll with it."

Ric lifted his M249 and pulled back the charging handle. "Trust me, I do _not_ want to use this, but if it comes to that, my job is make sure that you and Daniel scamper back through the Stargate in one piece. You really should have a better appreciation of just how valuable you, and Doctor Jackson are to SGC."

"Are you saying that Naruto and Hinata have been deceiving us all this time?" Sam replied.

"Not at all." Ric pulled his SIG and checked it. "My point is that you don't know with _complete_ certainty what's on the other side of that gate, and neither do I. Since I've come here, I've read every SG1 report, and analysis, of what could be waiting for us on the other side of that Stargate. I _want_ to go through that 'gate and be pleasantly surprised. But wanting, and getting, are two different things... am I paranoid? Yes I am... and I've got the scars to justify it."

Daniel nodded thoughtfully. "He's right Sam. I also want things to go well, but I also remember things not going like we had hoped." Sam realized what he was referring to, and nodded somberly. "I can afford to be an optimist, but only because someone like Ric is standing behind me."

Ric and Irina joined them behind the safety line, checking their weapons and equipment one last time. Ric commented quietly, "Besides all that, remember that we're going to a village full of ninjas; if we show up looking like we're going to a picnic, they'll think we're a bunch of idiots... and you _don't_ want that. Those folks live in a dark and dangerous world; they're hoping for strong, powerful friends, not Girl Scouts carrying cookies."

Ric looked back that the control room and nodded to Hammond. After the General returned the nod, Ric adjusted his patrol cap and said, "Let's do it."

Sam turned around and gave the high sign to the technicians in the control room... the Stargate began to power-up, and moments later, the first chevron locked into place.

Standing behind Sam and Daniel, Irina reached up, gently grabbed Ric's chin and pulled him in for a kiss... then whispered something into his ear.

The chevrons continued to lock into place...

===April 16, 10:01 AM, KSC, Gate Chamber===

Sakura noted the tension in Tsunade's stance and stepped up next to her. She said quietly, "There's nothing we can do on this end, Hokage-sama. The process of linking to our Stargate is entirely on their end. Please be at ease, I'm sure that..."

Everyone in the chamber went still as the Stargate lit up, except for the ANBU in the gallery.

Sakura stepped away from Tsunade and announced in a loud voice, "Stay outside the warning line!" She pointed to yellow rectangular line painted on the floor.

-x-

"Look sharp, everyone. Our guests are coming." Neko said in a firm voice as she looked about, checking each ANBU.

Weasel spoke up. "Just so we're clear on this, what happens if a bunch of enemies come through... that." He nodded at the 'gate.

Neko loosened her katana in its sheath. "Then we fight... we fight until they're all dead... or we're all dead." Weasel nodded and began making the hand seals for a Katon... Neko added, "Hold your jutsu's at the final seal, do nothing else unless the Hokage orders it." She added with a whisper, "Or it all goes to shit."

-x-

Anko leaned forward and looked at Kakashi, she asked in a low voice, "So, do you think we'll get a party, or a fight?"

Kurenai snorted with amusement. "After your fifth bottle of sake, there isn't much of a difference."

Kakashi kept his eyes fixed on the Stargate and replied, "I'd prefer a party." He added silently, '_I've seen enough fighting for 3 lifetimes._'

Shiho spoke up. "I think something is happening..."

As everyone looked at the 'gate, the inside of the ring filled with a shimmering energy that looked for all the world like water that suddenly burst outward in a long gout then snapped back with almost the same promptness... and that all occurred in barely a second. After that, the shimmering surface settled down, looking like a pool of water... on its side.

Everyone near-by heard Anko mutter, "Kami, I need a drink... no, make that 3 drinks."

Tsunade, now standing by herself, thought '_You and me both, Anko._' She held her breath as a man and a woman appeared, stepping out of the shimmering energy, and began walking down the ramp... she recognized both of them from the photos she had received from Shogun.

-x-

Sam focused as she shrugged off the disorientation of passing through the wormhole. Her eyes glanced about, taking in the details of the large chamber she and Daniel had walked into. Sam's eyes immediately went to the woman standing near the 'gate; she had seen a photo of the Hokage before. '_Damn... if breast size equals brains on this planet, she must be an Einstein._' Then she saw Sakura, and resisted the urge to wave to her. '_We have so much to talk about._' She settled for sending a smile in Sakura's direction.

Daniel, with equal ease, came through the 'gate clear-headed. He looked about after adjusting his glasses and commented aloud, "It's not the biggest reception we've ever gotten, but it's up there with the strange factor." As he made in way down the ramp, Daniel quickly picked out the Hokage, her ample chest was his first clue, her blonde hair in twin pigtails the second.

Then he noticed the other two distinct groups... a line of 5 adults, and 3 teenagers. From what recalled of Naruto's stories, 3 stuck out... '_The man with the mask must be Kakashi, Naruto's old sensei._' Then he noticed the shortest woman, with wild eyes. '_And that's probably Anko._' The third was easier to spot, Hinata had spoken about her many times. '_The woman with the striking red eyes has to be Kurenai._'

Daniel smiled as he looked at second group... he instantly noticed the pink-haired girl, '_That must be Sakura, Sam's chief source of questions about the Stargate._' Then he noted the tall, lanky boy next her and smiled. '_That's got to be Shikamaru._' His gaze shifted back the older ninjas and noticed the glasses-wearing, blonde-haired woman. '_Ah... that must be Shiho._'

-x-

Anko spoke up first, "They don't look very impressive... especially the guy with the glasses." She glanced at Kurenai. "And the blonde..."

Kakashi spoke up, "Probably. But what about the other two?"

"Huh?" Anko looked back at the metal ring. Two new people had appeared on the ramp, once again a man and a woman. But, unlike the first pair, they had halted only a step past the shimmering surface. Both of them, by Anko's reckoning, were the ones to watch.

"They're the dangerous ones." Kurenai commented, then added, "And big too."

Shiho leaned slightly forward and fiddled with her glasses. "What are they holding in their hands?"

Kakashi looked the tall pair, both of them slowly scanning the chamber to their front. He thought about it for a moment and replied, "Those are weapons... don't ask what kind they are, but they look dangerous enough to me." The tall man, wearing an odd cap, looked familiar to Kakashi, but he, and the tall woman were still an easy 75 feet away, too far for a really good look.

"They don't look very friendly." Shiho opined.

Anko snorted derisively. "That's their job. They're here to kill anybody that messes with the first pair... probably. Kami knows what the rest of the stuff they're wearing can do."

"I agree." Everyone glanced at Shikamaru, who had silently moved forward to join them. He added, "The man is watching the ANBU in the gallery, the woman is watching us. Both of them aren't the least bit awed with their situation." He flicked his gaze to Anko. "I'd advise _not_ provoking them."

Anko sniffed in reply. "Then how am I going to have any fun?"

"You can have all the fun you want, when you're standing off by yourself. I'm not eager to find out what their weapons do... while they're vaguely pointed in our direction." Kurenai replied. "In case you haven't noticed it, the pair at the top of the ramp don't appear to be the least bit reluctant about attacking us... especially the woman."

"Aren't they a bit too far away for that?" Shiho asked.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I wouldn't bet my life on it. Both of them look like they're perfectly content to stay where they are... I suspect that they can attack _everybody_ in the chamber from that location."

Hakumei broke her silence, "Hopefully, we won't have to find out. My best jutsu would barely reach them... maybe. Besides, the first pair is talking to the Hokage... and they're smiling. I'll take that as a good sign."

Anko observed aloud, "Hey, at least we know that our new allies aren't gutless, or stupid; I'll take that as a positive."

-x-

Irina's eyes ceased their scan of the chamber's floor; she had finished marking the more dangerous-looking people for her first few bursts with the SAW she was holding loosely. Irina focused her attention on Daniel and Sam, and the woman walking towards them. She quietly asked in Russian, "_Who's the cow in pigtails, darling?_"

Ric maintained his war face and replied, "_She's the military leader of these people, and insanely strong by Naruto's reckoning._" After another sweep of the chamber with his eyes he added, "_Remember that this is going to be our new home. It wouldn't do for you to insult our host... so behave yourself._"

Irina briefly sulked. "_Yes darling._"

-x-

"Good morning, Hokage-dono." Daniel smiled warmly and bowed exactly as Ric had coached him, on how to greet someone of the Hokage's rank.

Tsunade returned the smile, and bowed back. '_He does look like a scholar... and he has manners too._' "Good morning, Jackson-sensei." Her smile turned playful. "I would normally ask you if you had a pleasant journey, but..." She looked at the Stargate, and the hard-eyed pair standing at the top of ramp. "...I imagine it's a bit different than a carriage ride."

Daniel chuckled at that. "Yes, slightly." He bobbed his head with a grin. "Excuse me." Daniel looked back at Ric and Irina. "Major Von Kreiger, Captain Lebed... Ahh... it's okay to relax now."

Tsunade gave Ric an appraising look. '_The photos don't do him justice._' Then she looked at the woman standing next to him. '_Hmm... so that's who Gamakichi was talking about... she has cold, hard eyes. Small wonder that Gamakichi was scared of her._'

"I'll relax when the ANBU surrounding us relaxes. Every single one of them has a jutsu primed and ready to release... no offense, Hokage-dono." Ric replied without breaking eye contact with the gallery. He added loudly with half a smile, "Including the two moving behind us."

Tsunade quickly masked her surprise... she saw Owl and Bear in the back gallery, after they stood up and revealed their locations. '_He's better briefed than I had suspected... and far more dangerous._' She briefly wondered if his unknown chakra had sensed the unseen ANBU moving behind, and above him.

Tsunade turned on her heel and yelled, "Neko! Have your people stand down!" She made a mental note to chide Neko later on.

She quietly sighed and turned to face Konoha's newest allies, a charming smile now firmly in place. Tsunade politely bowed and declared, "Welcome to Konoha."

x

End Chapter 12

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Author's Note 2: Okay, some recent reviewers have earned replies, so here we go...

bfg10k17: Thanks, we do our best, this is a 2 brain fic.. thus the top quality. (even if 1 of the brains is mine... LOL)

Rhynimy: Thanks, my co-author should handle the military aspect of this, such as locations, etc...

snowecat: The Russian translations, if not explained by another character in chapter, it'll be at the end with a translation. The shinobi issue, we're going for a mostly realistic feel to everything, within the context of the mixed universes, blending them smoothly, and staying basically realistic.. is very hard. The Kensey issue, and other Earth bad guys, will be handled, thanks for the heads up on that.

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Editor's Note 2: For those who are wondering, there will be more OCs coming, but don't worry... I believe in quality, not quantity, and every single new OC will be worth noting. I have been _very_ pleased to read, in the reviews, that there are readers who appreciate, and understand the amount of effort into making the OCs of this story come alive. Yes, that has translated into extra content for the chapters... but the numerous kind comments I've read, tells me the effort was worth it. (I _will_ be the OC King of FFN!) Now the replies...

David / zmanjz / irishydra: Here ya go... enjoy. (Hurray! More new readers.)

Rhynimy: Thank you. I put a LOT of effort into the OCs, and while I was never posted to the SOG, I had a few dear friends who were. I'm happy that you can appreciate why Green Berets are going to Konoha... stay tuned for more fun (Naruto + C4 + detcord = Excitement!). As to Okinawa, it is the home of the 1st SF Group (and don't diss Shotokan karate or I'll sic Jeri on you... LOL). And no, if you go back to the insert in question, I did note it as Kaneda AFB. And the other part wasn't a mistake either (if that's what you were referring to)... a C17 can land at Haneda (near Tokyo), if you have a Granny ninja lord talk to the right people... you'll see what I mean. As to the content issues, that's a mine field with the FFN Mods on a selective jihad against 'adult content'... I leave that headache to Mike. As to the other issue you raised... it is only 2 years after 9-11. Context does matter (PM me for further views, Obakeinu.9-11). Once again, thanks for your kind words... this story is where I'm getting my feet wet as an 'almost author'… now co-author.

zeroblade88: thanks, I'll count you as another satisfied customer (quality does matter...).

gunnslie: more Daikage on the way... hope you're not disappointed.

SeanHicks4: Kukukuku... that would be telling. Patience, young Jedi.

Cyberbeta: let's see if this chapter clears things you for you... as to the 'enlightenment' aspect, don't over-think it, just let the story flow around you and take it as it comes.

RangerH: Thanks... and don't bother, I'm already in the next grid square... go get Mike, he loves the attention.

Deathmvp: more Ino, and yeah... she in _trouble_.

ErikArden: I agree. And thanks, more clues on the Shadow Clan as you had hoped for.

yukicrewger2: BUZZZZZZT! You're not even close.

puma1sunfire: calm down... here's your fix.

-x-

Translation(s):

Ne shali. (Don't misbehave.)

Ochen' horosho... (Very good...)

gigantskaya zhabba (giant (/large) toad)

"Soko ni wa hikari aru mono to suru..." ("Let there be light...")

Jukyoku byoubu | byoubu (the name for a ten-paneled folding screen, typically painted) [and yeah, I know I left some vowels out... deal with it.]

Kage Ichizoku (Shadow Clan)

Dai-kenjin (Great Sage)

Ty mne doveryayesh? (Do you trust me?)

"Khorosho." ("Good.")

shodo (Japanese calligraphy writing.)

kynaz / printz (knight / prince)


	13. Connections: Part 2

Ninjagate

Connections: Part 2

By: MikeJV37/Obakeinu.9-11

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Author's Note: I just want to announce the promotion of my Editor to Co-Author for all his great work. Starting with this chapter, his name will join mine for this fic (as noted above).

x

Editor/Co-author's forward: Okay readers, this is where things start to diverge from every other AU fanfic on this site. One of the biggest headaches I have with Kishimoto's world is his casual attitude towards technology. By his own words, the author has admitted that he cherry-picks the tech he wants to advance the story, and ignores, or rejects, the tech that doesn't square up with his visualization of the Narutoverse.

Well, it's his story and he has that right; however, for someone (like me) who understands technology, _and_ manufacturing processes, Kishimoto's world is a jumbled and illogical tech stew. I'll stay out of the weeds, but there will be an imposed consistency for Naruto's world, because when Earth-tech (to include any nifties SGC snapped up while poking about the universe) starts finding its way into the shinobi forces (and eventually the streets), the differences _will_ be telling.

And, since I'm on the subject of tech... there will be firearms, and other modern nasties. Now does this mean that there's gonna be Leaf nins everywhere, toting M16's and pistols... the short answer: No. Are select canon/OC characters going to get modern weapons training? Hell yes, and _any_ complaints will be duly ignored. The SG1 fans are well aware of what's coming... the designated villain (a System Lord) _isn't_ going to tell his Jaffa warriors to leave their Ma'Tok plasma staffs, or their Zats in the armory just to be 'fair' when they square off with the shinobi's.

To put this all in perspective, inside of 30 feet, IMO, the shinobi have the edge; within the range of the average mid-ranged jutsu (that takes less than 3 hand-seals to fire off), they've got a fighting chance. Beyond that, the battle goes to the bad guys... and I'm not even talking about Death Gliders, _or_ the Kull joining the fray. The average SG1 fan _knows_ what's next if _that_ happens... and it _ain't_ pretty. And, for the Naruto fans who'll say... the big boys and girls will just start unleashing their awesome A and S-ranked jutsus and carry the day... my answer: that's fine... for that single battle.

What happens next? The annoyed System Lord will just start pelting Naruto's world with space rocks the size of metro buses until he (or she) gets _bored_... and game over.

My point: the shinobi of Naruto's world _can_ win, but only by playing to their strengths, merging their skills with complimentary tech, and keeping their world out of the cross-hairs. That's the drama, and the story yet to come. All is not lost, nor is the battle hopeless. From this point on, the story becomes this... adaptation, integration, unity, and adventures through the Stargate.

And, once again, I encourage all you new readers out there to leave a review, and give us your thoughts on NinjaGate (considering the Favs & Follows both broke 400 [409/400] at the time I'm writing this... WOOHOO!). Thank you for all the comments, and kind words concerning chapter 12.

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===April 16, 10:04 AM, KSC, Gate Chamber===

Unlike Shikamaru, who had joined the line of Jonins, and Sakura, who was slowly moving towards the Hokage, Kiba held his ground. He watched, and listened silently to the words of the newcomers who had come through the shimmering surface that filled the large ring, standing 25 yards away.

Thus far, it was plainly obvious that the Hokage, the Jonins in front of him, and some of his peers, had been in on the secret. Add to that, a small handful of Chuunins hovering behind him... he wasn't really sure what department they were from, but he did recognize the slightly modified vests and tool-belts. They were tech-nins... a portion of the select group entrusted to work within the Hokage Complex, and had access to the other departments in Konoha. Before today, he would have snorted dismissively at the sight of them... now, he was the one who felt useless, and out of place.

Akamaru broke him out of his cogitation; he arf'ed, "**Let's go Kiba! I wanna smell them!**"

Kiba silently laughed at himself. '_He's right, we should be doing what Inuzuka's do best... scout, and investigate._' As he took in a shallow breath through his nose, it promptly wrinkled in distaste. He snorted to clear his nose, '_Kami's crotch... I didn't need that!_' He quickly moved past the line of Jonins... Anko smelt of cheap sake; the blonde-haired woman had a cloying scent about her... to be fair to Shiho, the perfume she was wearing was flowery and pleasant... except to an Inuzuka at close range; and Kurenai-sensei smelt of... Kiba's eyebrows twitched. '_She mated this morning..._'

As he sniffed again, Kiba's eyes flicked to Kakashi. '_...with him._' Kiba quickly wiped the frown from his face. '_Focus Kiba... who's mounting whom isn't important right now._' He could barely smell the Hyuuga woman, sandwiched between the blonde and Anko. It was hardly surprising that he primarily detected the scent of soap, and shampoo... except for the fact that it was the same brand that Hana-neesan used. Hyuuga females were unremarkable as a whole, and almost always clean-smelling. As he picked up the pace to catch up with Sakura, Akamaru leapt out of his fur-trimmed jacket and raced ahead. "Hey! Dammit... wait for me!" 

-x- (Resuming from the previous chapter...)

Tsunade politely bowed and declared, "Welcome to Konoha."

Both Sam and Daniel returned the bow and smiled. Sam glanced up at the gallery and silently let out a breath as the masked and armored ninja relaxed... she heard a distinct metallic click, followed a couple of seconds later by a second click. '_Now that that's over with._' Sam looked back up the ramp... to her additional relief, both Ric and Irina had let go of their SAWs, now hanging by their slings, and were slowly walking down the ramp.

Her comment to the both of them was side-tracked by a snuffling sound... at her feet. Looking down, Sam saw a large white puppy, with brown patches on its ears... and... '_A dog with a mohawk?_' ...sniffing her boots. Before she could speak, Sam heard Irina comment, "It would appear, Major Carter, that you have your first admirer." Rather than reply, she looked at Tsunade instead... who was glancing downward with raised eyebrows. The young dog immediately began barking and bounded over to Daniel, sniffing his boots as well, and started barking again.

Everyone there turned their attention from the yapping dog, to a sturdy teenager, with wild brown hair, fang-like red tattoos on his cheeks, running towards them. The newcomer came to a skidding halt as his nose wrinkled; he frowned in thought then pointed. "Hokage-sama, it's them!"

-x-

Neko frowned beneath her mask as she watched Owl and Bear approach her. She tapped her finger tips against her chest armor as she glanced at the Hokage greeting Konoha's new allies. "Okay you two... what were you thinking when you moved from your assigned positions?"

The ANBU operatives came to attention... Bear replied, "We were attempting to gain a tactical advantage in case trouble arose."

Owl stepped forward. "It's my fault, Ma'am. I suggested that we get inside their arc of vision... and get close enough to effectively use our jutsus... just in case."

Neko saw no fault with the decision, the pair at the top of the ramp had refused to budge from their vantage point. She had read the briefing paper on the weapons available to the military of the world these people had come from, but... except for the listed ranges of the various types, the descriptions were little better than gibberish to her... and the pictures of them more than slightly ominous. She had vaguely recognized the devices the pair had been holding, and it unsettled her to no end that they... if she was right, could have easily been 5 times further away from their location, and still effectively attacked her people in the gallery.

Bear scratched the back of his head. "I still can't figure out how..." He looked down at the strangers who had come through the 'gate. "...he spotted us."

"Maybe he smelled that natto you pigged out on for breakfast." Owl snarked under her breath; Neko's nose twitched at the mention of it.

Bear grumbled in reply, "Natto is the food of champions, feather head."

Neko snorted. '_I wish it was that easy... they were both clearly out of sight, and they're two of my best..._' She broke off her thought as the chamber filled with the sound of barking.

-x-

"Them? What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked.

Kiba noted her annoyed tone and came to attention. "The two in front of you were some of the scents we..." He nodded at Akamaru. "...detected at the valley where Hinata-chan and Naruto disappeared." Even though Tsunade had long ago learned the details from General Hammond, the mention of Naruto's name still plucked a nerve.

Sakura's arrival, and her innocent question, didn't help. "Where is Naruto-kun?"

Daniel and Sam exchanged looks, both of them had noticed the Hokage's eyebrow twitch. Before either of them could reply, Ric quickly moved to the right, and forward of Sam. "Naruto, and Hinata, are receiving special training today." He replied in a mild voice and smiled.

Tsunade quickly mastered her emotions. "I see. What kind of training?"

Sam, noting the brief reaction on Tsunade's face, added, "General Hammond thought it best to withhold knowledge of the test of your 'gate address. While we didn't expect any issues to arise, there have been... mishaps in the past."

Sakura, now standing next to Tsunade, asked, "What kind of mishaps?"

Daniel got a thoughtful look on his face and replied, "The least bad scenario is winding up in the wrong place... with nothing nasty waiting for you to arrive."

Tsunade's imagination ran wild for several seconds... before she shoved it back into a locked box. "Yes... you made the right choice." Whatever SGC's motives might be, it was clear to her that they had Naruto, and Hinata's well-being in mind... messages from both of them had made that abundantly clear.

By now, the rest of the attendees, the Jonins and such had moved closer. Kakashi spoke up, repeating Sakura's question. "So, what kind of training are they getting?"

Ric smiled disarmingly. "Basic demolitions training." He noted the blank looks on some of the Konoha nins faces and added, "They're being taught how to make things go 'boom'."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "I don't think he needs _any_ help with that sort of activity." Almost everybody present nodded in agreement.

Ric gave everyone an astute smile. "Making inconvenient, and bad things... or people, go 'poof' is a high science, and an art form." He broadened his smile. "And Naruto's getting lessons from one of the best, a man who could probably blow up the moon... if you asked him to."

Kakashi's eye-smile disappeared. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Anko chimed in. "What, blowing up the moon, or teaching Naruto how to do it?" Everyone there turned and looked at Anko dubiously... she crossed her arms and pouted. "It sounds like fun... to me." Kurenai slapped the back of her head. "_Itai..._ I was only kidding."

Kurenai gently slapped her head a second time, "No you _weren't_."

Irina hugged Ric from behind. "I like this place, darling, it's full of interesting people." She whispered in his ear. "I make nice home for you here, you'll see."

===10:02 AM, LZ Whiskey 9, Ft. Carson, CO===

As the UH-60G Pave Hawk's pilot skillfully cleared the trees and descended to the center of a wide clearing, Naruto leaned as far out of the chopper as his seat belt would allow, a wide foxy grin splitting his face. As it had been from the first day he, and Hinata, had arrived on Earth, the moment he thought he couldn't be surprised, or thrilled any more... he was proved wrong.

His heart was pounding so hard from the excitement of the ride out, he didn't even feel the iron grip of Hinata's hand on his left arm. As the strange, but wondrous machine made contact with the ground, Naruto heard the Flight Engineer's voice through his headset, "Thank you for flying Midnight Air, hope you had a wonderful flight." Shortly after that, he heard Jeri announce, "Keep low, and follow me."

Naruto quit staring out his side of the heli and noticed Hinata and Jeri exiting out the opposite side, both of them crouched over and moving straight away from the Pave Hawk. He released his seat belt and quickly joined him; once they'd gotten well past the sweep of the rotor blades, they all turned about and watched the helicopter spring into the air and fly away.

After a long moment of silence, the sound of departing Pave Hawk aside, Naruto leapt into the air and yelled, "THAT WAS AWESOME! WE HAVE GOT TO DO THAT AGAIN!" His foxy grin undiminished, Naruto looked at Hinata... and finally noticed that she was pale, and motionless. His grin disappeared. "What's wrong Hinata-chan?"

She shook herself, ever so slightly and took a deep breath. As the color to her face returned, she replied in a faint voice, "We were flying."

Jeri chuckled. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan... you'll get used to it."

From behind them, a voice called out, "Oh how the mighty have fallen." The trio turned and saw a man coming out the tree line, dressed just like Jeri and wearing a Green Beret. He added with a smile, "What's up, you old fart?"

Jeri replied, "Still young enough ta kick y'or sorry ass, Ted."

The newcomer grinned and started walking towards them. "I know... that's why I'm still back here, out of easy reach." SFC Theodore Spears nodded at Naruto and Hinata. "I'd heard about your new assignment, but I didn't figure it included baby-sitting. When you told me you wanted a full demolitions class, you didn't mention..." He pointed at Naruto and Hinata. "...them."

Jeri crossed his arms over his chest. "FYI, Ted, these are TS-Q Project-grade, Code-named VIPs."

Ted froze in place. "Yer shit'n me." After a few seconds of studying Jeri's face, he added with a frown. "No... I guess you ain't." Ted raised an eyebrow. "Okay Shine-man, you and me need to have a chat... in private."

Jeri let out a sigh and glanced and Naruto and Hinata. "You kids go wander off for a bit." He made a shooing motion with his hand. "I'll let you know when to come back."

The Konoha nins exchanged glances and replied, "Hai." Both of them quickly headed straight for the far part of the clearing without further comment.

Spears watched the youthful pair run off with raised eyebrows. "Quick little rascals, ain't they."

"You don't know the half of it, Ted." Jeri replied.

Spears waited until he was a few feet away from Jeri before replying. "So when did the brass think it was a good idea to start using kids as operators?"

"They tain't kids, Ted... both of them are stone-cold killers, and in their own special way, already trained _and_ good to go." Jeri replied in a low voice and added, "And just to be clear, _nothing_ you see today can be discussed with _anybody_... even if the Commander of the 10th Group himself, ordered you to talk to him."

Ted squatted down. "I was afraid you were gonna say that." He plucked a long grass stem and twirled it between his fingers. After a long moment of silence, he added, "So... are they related to... that place?" Jeri nodded in reply. Ted stared at the spot where Naruto and Hinata disappeared into the woods, then studied Jeri's face. "So how deep are you into this mess?"

Jeri openly sighed. "Me and the Old Man are up past our eyeballs... and breath'n through snorkels."

Ted jerked with surprise. "Whoa there... are you saying that they brought Cap'n Crazy outta exile for this? Damn... I thought for sure he was heading for Leavenworth after A-stan."

"You and me both brother." Jeri joined Ted in a squat and replied with a tight smile, "And he's full-bird Colonel Crazy now... and they waved a star at me."

Ted fell backwards onto his ass. "Fuck me with an RPG..." He stared at Jeri with raised eyebrows. "That's one big-ass piece of cheese... shit Jeri, what the fuck have you gotten yourself into?" Ted shook his head in disbelief. "So who's on your A-Team?"

Jeri shook his head and replied with a whisper. "No team, and no in-theater back-up."

Ted shot to his feet with surprising speed, and agility. "Now you _are_ shitting me." He looked down at Jeri's eyes, then rubbed his face. "So what's the plan? I know you Jeri... and I know JSOC, there's no fucking way they let this go by without a trapdoor."

Jeri nodded. "Yer right, there is one... but I need your help, Ted."

Ted squared his shoulders, "Name it Jeri, and I'll make it happen."

Jeri stood up and smiled. "I was hoping you would say that." He pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it over. "Here's a list of the specialties we need filled... I'd prefer people who are not active, totally clean, recently cycled out of the system... sorry, no old-timers, and _nobody_ with a family."

Jeri leaned closer. "This is the most dangerous gig we've ever been handed... I'm talking 'through the looking glass' crazy bad. Truth be told, anybody signing up for this gig probably ain't coming back, not because they'll be dead... although that's a very real possibility, but because we're talk'n _beyond_ ultra-black op territory."

Jeri took a step backwards and looked his old friend dead in the eye. "Whoever goes in, ain't gonna be the same ever again, and that's all I can tell you at this moment. That aspect has to be made loud and clear to _anybody_ who says yes."

Ted stared at the folded paper. "How many people do you need?"

Jeri rubbed his chin. "At least one for each specialty, preferably two... the _best_ of the best, and they _don't_ have to be from amongst us... the Old Man's got enough pull on this gig to reel in FN's." Jeri pointed at the paper. "You just line up the names and once that's done, me and Old Man will do the rest."

Ted looked at the folded paper one last time before pocketing it. '_God Almighty... what have you gotten yourself into Jeri?_' He gave his old friend a thin smile. "How quick do you need 'em?"

Jeri snorted. "Fuck, we probably needed 'em 2 weeks ago... but don't rush it, we need quality, not quantity. The more you pre-screen them, the less we'll wind up turning away." Jeri added a frown. "As it stands now, there's plenty of in-theater prep that the Boss has to handle... you don't wanna know about that mess."

He motioned for Ted to come along and started walking towards where the nins had gone. "It's not all bad, the Boss is doing a minor bit of poaching to get a skeleton staff up and running, so it could be worse." He added silently, '_But not by much._'

===April 16, 10:15 AM, KSC, Gate Chamber===

After Daniel presented the formal invitation to the Hokage to come to SGC in a week's time, the people gathered in the chamber had broken up into 3 groups. Daniel was chatting with the Hokage, a young man named Shikamaru (who divided his attention between Daniel and Sam), and a blonde-haired woman named Shiho.

The other group, actually a pairing, was Sam and Sakura... sitting together at a large table and discussing something; Ric assumed it was related to the Stargate in general. He chuckled at the memory of Irina politely poking at her hair, and exclaiming, "She's so cute!"

And then there was his group... Naruto and Hinata's former Sensei's, Kakashi and Kurenai; the crazy-eyed kunoichi named Anko who was busy chatting with Irina; the young nin named Kiba (who had put his dog back inside his jacket); and, the Hyuuga woman, introduced as Hakumei, who was quietly hanging back and observing... him.

"Pardon me a moment." Rick took off his utility vest and laid it on the table next to them; all the Konoha nins present eyed the vest with interest.

"What are those?" Kakashi pointed at the vest and swept his finger over the grenades.

Ric detached 3 of them and held each up in turn. "This one is a defensive grenade..." He palmed the spherical, OD green-colored M68 fragmentation grenade. "...that sprays out high-velocity metal fragments, including a concussive force. It has a 3 to 5 second delay once you arm it by pulling out this pin." Ric pointed to the ringed, pull-pin. "And letting go of the safety spoon. Unlike your exploding seals, this uses a chemical compound to explode. It'll cover a 30 foot diameter circle when it goes bang." He casually tossed it at Kiba... who caught it with wide eyes.

After recovering from his surprise, Kiba hefted it and remarked, "It's fairly heavy."

"Yup, it's just shy of a pound in weight... I'll be curious to see how far a shinobi can throw one." Ric noticed Kiba fingering the safety clip. "Be careful with that, young man... once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend. It _won't_ care where it is when it goes off." He smiled at the look on Kiba's face. "Don't worry, it's safe until you arm it."

Kurenai pointed to the black, cylindrical grenade. "What about this one?"

Ric grinned as he picked it up. "This is one of my favorites. We call it a flash-bang; when it goes off, it emits a intense flash of light, and a _very_ loud explosion... and little more than that. Theoretically, it's non-lethal... but I still wouldn't want one going off in front of my face." He tossed the M84 to Kurenai... who caught it handily. "It's meant to stun and disorient, and minimizes any lethal harm to non-combatants. It's very handy if you're attempting to rescue hostages, or kill, or capture bad guys."

Kurenai eyed the grenade. "So I could throw this...?"

Ric finished the sentence. "Into a room and go charging straight in, right after it goes off." Kurenai nodded appreciatively; he added with a grim smile, "And less of a mess to clean up afterwards."

Kakashi pointed to the last grenade, a gray-painted cylinder. "And this one is?"

Ric picked it up and handed it to Kakashi. "That, is an M8 smoke grenade."

Kiba moved closer and commented, "We have something like that... but our smoke bombs are a lot smaller."

Ric nodded in agreement. "Yes, Hinata-dono demonstrated one of those to us... the big difference is the amount of dense smoke that it generates. An M8 will burn for about a minute and a half, and you'd do well to not inhale much of it... the smoke is mildly toxic, but this grenade does have multiple functions."

Kakashi rolled it in his hand. "Explain please."

"Like your smoke bombs, it can be used to conceal movements of people... for us, cutting down on the accuracy of hostile fire, or it can be used for signaling, or to mark a location. This particular one emits white smoke... hence the white band around the body. There are four other colors: green, red, yellow, and violet. When you draw up an op plan, you can assign a different meaning, or message, for each color... or use it to identify yourself when coordinating with air support; either for picking up, or dropping things off; or, not getting blown up by your own supporting fire."

Kiba scowled in thought. "Air... support?"

Kakashi chuckled. "They have machines that fly." He eye-smiled at the look of bewilderment on Kiba's face. "Don't feel bad, I had the same reaction when I was told about it."

Kiba made an abbreviated flapping motion with his hands. "You mean fly... like birds in the sky?" The tone of disbelief in his voice matched the look on his face.

"As a matter of fact, Naruto and Hinata probably got to fly in a Pave Hawk this very morning." Ric replied.

Hakumei broke her silence. "Hinata-sama flew in the sky?"

Ric thought about it for a moment. "Sorta... actually, I suspect they were flying not that far above the tree tops, if I know those guys."

Kiba's eyebrows went up. "And just how fast does one of these... flying machines go?"

"About a 150 knots... oops... I should say about 180 miles an hour." Ric replied with a casual tone. He saw the looks on the nins faces. "Don't worry, I'm sure they had loads of fun."

===10:43 AM, Training Area Zulu, Ft. Carson, CO===

"Today, Sergeant Spears and I are going to start you on the path to the effective use of high explosives." Jeri paused next to a pair of field tables, well-stocked with live training aids, and gave Naruto a meaningful stare. "But, unlike what you're used to, this..." He picked up a half-kilo block of C4. "...is, in my opinion, far more dangerous than anything you've seen, or used before." He casually tossed the plastic explosive to Naruto, who ably caught it.

Naruto turned the rectangular block of off-white material in his hands; it was soft and pliable. In a way, it reminded him of the clay he played with as a child, and said as much.

Jeri nodded. "Yup, that's the whole point; it's made to be moldable, and that's a trade off because it's not as powerful as regular explosives." He picked a green-colored, short rectangular block of military-grade TNT. "This is what I would use if I wanted to destroy something outright, it's much more powerful, but I can't do anything with it, except make it go boom."

Naruto looked at the block in Jeri's hand. "If the other stuff is more powerful, then why use this?" He held up the C4.

Jeri and Ted exchanged grins, then Jeri picked up a flat rectangle in a black-colored wrapper with his free hand and waved it. "Because this allows for more precision, and creativity. While blowing stuff up is fun, sometimes you don't want to blow _everything_ up... just one particular thing and no more." Jeri smiled at the puzzled look on Naruto's face, and noted Hinata's thoughtful face. He wiggled the black-wrapped block of C4. "How you shape this, and where you put it, will get you the desired result."

Hinata raised her hand and asked, "How do you make it explode?"

Jeri smiled and put the explosives back on the table. "That's an excellent question... and an important subject." Jeri's face turned serious, as did his voice. "This is where mistakes, and carelessness will get you dead." He waved his hand over a variety of inert detonators laid out on the table. "When you handle and use these types of detonators, you have to know the rules, pay attention, and stay focused... or you'll wind up dead."

Naruto thought about the explosive tags he normally used, what he had been taught about them, and their uses. He voiced his doubts. "I think what we use is better, and safer, Jeri-sensei." He and Jeri had discussed the Explosive Tags he used back on his world, at length, in the past. "What makes that stuff better?"

Jeri ignored the questioning look on Ted's face and replied, "Precision, Naruto... and the associated skills of demolition training, how much power to use, and where to use it to get the desired results... and no more than that." Jeri picked up the block of TNT. "As satisfying as big explosions are, sometimes you don't have that option, like when you're just as likely to get caught up in it. There are many reasons why you might want to destroy a target, but sometimes, simply denying an opponent the use of one particular thing is more important, and desirable, than total destruction." Jeri smiled on the inside as a thoughtful look came over Naruto's face.

Hinata raised her hand again and said, "Like a situation where the target is as valuable to you as it is to the enemy?"

Ted grinned. "She's a quick one... and smart too."

Jeri nodded. "Yup." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "Alright, enough with the lecture; next comes the safety chat, then we'll have a bit of fun. Does that sound okay?"

Naruto's foxy smile reappeared. "Hai, Jeri-sensei."

===April 16, 10:45 AM, KSC, Gate Chamber===

As the third pallet, brought through the Stargate by a forklift, passed by, Ric snatched off the gym bag he had placed on it. He returned to the table laden with his gear, set it down and opened it. "By the way, I have presents for everyone here." He rooted around inside the bag. "Ahh... there it is. In no particular order of importance, I've got..." Akamaru yipped eagerly. "...something for Kiba's friend." Ric brandished a blue racquet ball, then bounced it off the table... Akamaru leapt out of Kiba's jacket, snatched it in mid-bounce, and went straight for Kiba after landing. "Hinata-dono thought you'd like it."

Akamaru dropped the ball and barked at Ric; he smiled and replied, "You're entirely welcome."

Akamaru barked at Kiba, "**BALL! Let's play!**" Kiba grabbed the small blue ball and tossed it, with appropriate results... Akamaru lit out after it like his tail was on fire.

Ric reached into the bag again, and pulled out the voice recorder. Ric lowered his voice. "This is actually for the Hokage, but..." He pulled out a bundle of micro-cassettes, secured with rubber bands. "...I've got messages for everyone here, I believe."

All the nins leaned forward with interest; even Hakumei came forward to look. Kurenai pointed at the objects on the table and asked, "What is all that?"

"Back where we come from, this is used to record voice messages." Ric pointed to the tapes. "Both Naruto and Hinata made audio letters for several people." He looked in the direction of Tsunade. "I'll leave it up to you if you want to steal a march on your Hokage."

He read the labels and made 3 groups of cassettes. "These are for Kakashi-san, the Hokage, and for Sakura. This one is for you, Hakumei-san, from Hinata-dono; and other is for you, Kurenai-san, and..." Ric flipped the tape over. "...her teammates." He looked at everyone present. "I'm sorry that there isn't more, but I'm sure that when the Hokage and her party comes to SGC, there'll be more appropriate... tokens of remembrance."

Both Kakashi and Kurenai picked up their tapes. Kurenai held hers like it was the most precious thing in the world. "I'll wait until later... I don't think Tsunade-sama would forgive us if we didn't let her go first." Kakashi and Hakumei nodded in agreement.

Kiba watched a forklift set down it's pallet and get into line with its brothers, waiting for the SGC techs who'd temporarily taken control of Konoha's 'gate, to cycle the traffic coming to, and from, SGC. "What are they bringing over?"

Ric scratched his chin in thought. "If I recall correctly, it's stuff to help you operate and monitor the 'gate, and some basic electronics, computers, and such." He nodded to himself. "No weapons though... at least not yet." Ric looked about. "How many storage areas have they made in this place?"

"They've constructed 4 levels, with 16 chambers of various sizes. The ANBU have been working constantly since they built this chamber..." Kakashi pointed about. "...and they built an access ramp that goes to ground level, and directly connects to the village, but it's still sealed off."

"Hmm... that's better than I had hoped for." Ric nodded agreeably and added, "And, in case you're wondering, the weapons will come soon enough... after I get enough help."

Kakashi and Kurenai exchanged looks. Kurenai asked, "Just how many are coming to Konoha with you?"

Ric fought to keep from frowning. "Originally, just myself and one other." He nodded towards Irina, who was currently wandering about the chamber. "And Irina will make 3... that's a start. There will be more; I just need to gather them up."

-x-

"Are you okay Sakura?" Sam asked noting the shock on the girl's face.

Sakura snapped out of her daze. "I'm fine." She looked down at her new portable computer on the table. "You mean that this..." She pointed at the laptop. "...has that much power?" Sam smiled slightly and nodded. "That's more than... triple the best computers in Konoha." Sakura said almost blankly. What Sam had told her in the last 20 minutes was so far above her head, she could barely comprehend it. "If this is common, what's your best?"

Sam smiled, she was really starting to like this girl. Sakura knew how to push her hot buttons... the non-sexual ones at least. Those things aside, as Jack teased her about it, she loved to 'talk tech'. "I'd love to tell you, but... no offense Sakura-san, I'm not sure now much you'd understand."

Sam patted the laptop. "That's why I installed some interactive software on your machine, and several educational folders. It's all basic stuff, but it will give you enough information, and terminology to give you a fundamental grasp of this level of tech. From there, I'll load more information, and you'll go to the next level."

She smiled at Sakura. "As you learn more, and become comfortable with discussing it, just be prepared to get odd looks, and blank stares when you talk about things. And perhaps a bit of teasing when you talk about things almost nobody around you understands."

Sakura's face lit up with a curious smile. "Who teases you?"

Sam chuckled softly. "Jack... he's like Naruto, but older." Sakura nodded knowingly in reply. "Everything I've told you in the letters is only the basics. There are some things you aren't cleared to know, but I can tell you enough to bring you up to speed, as we say it. Through various sources, just in the last year, we've upgraded a number of our systems a few times. Our best tech comes from one of our allies, and this will surprise you I think... but our enemies are our best source of advanced technology."

"How do you do that? For us, it's new jutsu from captured shinobi... usually. Kakashi-sensei can copy jutsu, but from what I understand of your world... you and your enemies guard your tech just as vigorously as we do our best jutsu's." Sakura commented.

"We do, and normally our enemies destroy their best, and newest technology before we can even get a good look at it. Oh, I'm getting off topic... sorry. Our best tech uses crystals to store and process information, and to a smaller extent, as power sources. Actually, more to regulate that power." Sam explained.

"Crystals... like diamonds and rubies?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. Hmm... let me simplify this for you..." Sam said, then almost giggled. "Or as Jack always asks me to do... dumb it down." She saw a familiar smile on Sakura's face, and knew she'd done the same for Naruto. Sam glanced around a moment then smiled. "May I borrow your laptop?"

Sakura nodded. "Hai, I wanted to see what it can do anyway." She said with a big smile, then watched Sam open it, turn it on, and watched with fascination as it booted up. In less than a minute, the laptop was ready to go; she smiled at the forest scene that was the desktop's background. "Wow, the picture looks so real... it's like looking through a window." Sakura said, mostly hiding her excitement.

===Nearby===

Watching Sakura talk to the blonde woman called Sam, were the top 2 tech-nins in the KSC. By virtue of their intelligence, and skill, they had earned the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin after rotating out of Team missions. Although they were clan-less, they came from prominent merchant families; one a seller of new tech goods; the other involved in repairing said goods, and selling refurbished tech products.

Their abilities had gotten them a recommendation from their Jonin-sensei's to enter a sub-branch of ANBU, and the responsibility of repairing and maintaining ANBU's equipment; Himeko Sasake, and her friend since the Academy, Ichiro Kikuchi. "Oh look, she's opening that new computer. I've been waiting for this since she gave it to Sakura-san... maybe we'll get one of them too." Himeko said softly, but excitedly, lightly bouncing on her toes.

Ichiro smiled subtly, if she wasn't so good at her job, and his best friend, he would have requested a new partner long ago. "You're bouncing again Himeko, at least try to act like a kunoichi. and not a little girl."

Himeko clenched her jaw briefly, and straightened her vest. "Sorry, you know how excited I get about new stuff... and know you know, these, aren't my fault... I had nothing at 15, and by 17, my chest had more bounce than Tsunade-sama tree jumping topless." She replied, then smirked deviously. "And unlike you, I have emotions and a personality... you could give a Hyuuga bland lessons." She added softly.

Ichiro nudged her with his elbow. "It's called focus and discipline." He replied softly. "And I'm only trying to keep you from embarrassing yourself... or did you forget that you bounced out once."

Himeko subtly shuttered at the memory. It was 2 days after her 17th birthday, she wasn't use to wearing a bra and had forgotten it; only her fellow tech-nin saw it, but she'd never been so embarrassed in her life. She replied, "Let's finish this discussion later okay? I want to see what that beauty can do."

Ichiro nodded, this wasn't the time or place for his subtle teasing, he really was trying to help her though. They knew better than most how important their division was going to become. He didn't show it, but he was as anxious as she was to get his hands on the newcomer's tech too.

===3 Minutes Later with Sam and Sakura===

"As these charts show, our overall tech level is several decades ahead of what's publicly available. thanks to our off-world allies. And, through what we call, reverse engineering, we've been able to integrate the technology we've recovered from the Goa'uld. Do you have any questions Sakura?" Sam asked.

Sakura thought about what she had seen, and doing her best to understand it; then something occurred to her. "If this... alien technology is that powerful, what powers it? I don't think any generators we have, has enough power to run them. And don't these Goa'uld people have... ships, for sailing between planets; they can't always use the 'gate, right?"

"That's a very astute observation Sakura." Sam replied, very impressed that Sakura was picking up details so quickly, and how sharp her deductive reasoning skills were; something she had sensed from her very first exchange of messages. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was your age..." Sam noted. Sakura's face light up at the comparison. "...we use a mineral called Naquadah. It's found on many worlds we've been to, but it has to be refined first."

Sakura nodded, that concept was very familiar to her.

===With Himeko and Ichiro===

"Wow, did you see how fast that laptop is? And the graphics are incredible." Himeko said, mostly suppressing her abundant energy and enthusiasm.

"And a mineral as a power source... imagine the possibilities for us if we had that powering their portable tech, not to mention ours... we could get field work." Ichiro whispered, his excitement almost noticeable in his voice.

Himeko nodded, she hadn't done field work since her last mission as a Chuunin about 3 years ago. "Let's not rush into it, okay? I'd like to avoid a violent death... or worse. You know what's out there as well as I do, and now we have aliens to worry about as well. So do me a favor and don't volunteer for anything without talking to me first... I don't want to have to break in a new partner."

Ichiro subtly smiled. "Deal... Hime-chan." He whispered, ignoring her light blush.

x

Sakura saw a small flood of SGC techs coming in, then glanced at her outdated Konoha computer. "Excuse me a moment Sam." Sakura turned and waved for the 2 Tech-nins to come closer. "Sam, this is Ichiro Kikuchi, and Himeko Sasake, 2 of our top tech-nins. Ichiro-san, Himeko-san, this is Major Samantha Carter." Sakura said; the 2 nins bowed as they were named.

"Pleased to meet you, and please... call me Sam." She asked with a smile.

Sakura stated. "I'll be learning to use this laptop for now, so you can disconnect my computer and help the SGC techs install the new one after they unload it."

"Hai, Sakura-san." They replied in unison, nodded and set off on their task.

"No offense, but aren't they a little young to be your top tech-nins?" Sam asked.

Sakura shook her head. "No, they're both 19, and they've been Tokubetsu Jonins for 3 years now."

"Tokubetsu Jonin... If I remember your ranks correctly, that's a lower grade Jonin, and that rank is normally given to a specialist, right?" Sam asked.

"Hai...I think your equivalent is Captain... or Major, like you. That's what rank Anko-san is." Sakura said, then pointed to Anko to be sure Sam knew who she meant.

Sam looked and nodded. '_Ah, the slut in the trench coat, short skirt and mesh shirt._' Sam thought.

"Sam, I wouldn't stare at her like that. Anko is... unpredictable, she tends to throw kunai first, and ask questions later. She's also one of our top assassins, and the best torture and interrogation specialist in Konoha, under her Sensei, the Head of the T&I Division, Ibiki-dono. Her idea of fun is a bar fight with at least a dozen opponents... preferably of Chuunin or higher rank." Sakura stated softly, but seriously.

Sam nodded, making a mental note to be sure not to piss her off. '_That's probably why she's getting along with Irina._' If she was right, Sakura had just given her the highlights on the purple-haired kunoichi, and withheld the nastier things she knew. "I'll remember that... now lets finish getting you up to speed on our tech."

-x-

Kiba quietly regarded Von Krieger; everything about him screamed alpha... from an Inuzuka's sense of the word, but he projected determination, and aggression, in a totally different fashion. It was almost the total opposite of his clan's ethic... and his chief role model, his mother. The other puzzle... there was an odd scent about him. But, his chief task was making sense of, in general, the new world he had suddenly been thrust into. Fighting Mizu nins in a swamp seemed an easier task.

Hakumei broke her silence. "That's a curiously small number to start with. Do your superiors properly regard us... and understand our worth?"

Ric returned Hakumei's gaze squarely. "Make no mistake, I think my higher ups know the value of this alliance. But, that doesn't mean that common sense carries the day." He added a smile. "Fortunately, I have some leeway in my orders. I'll get a proper staff... one way or the other, _and_ I have the authority to recruit, and pay, people from here to help me. All I have to do is find smart, motivated people who want to protect their families, and homes, and the people they live alongside of." Ric reached into the gym bag and pulled out some folded clothing.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "That's not an impossible task... although it's quite rare for any Hidden Village to permit another Village to openly recruit within their walls."

All the nins tensed up as they saw Ric freeze. '_Shit, that wasn't mentioned in the mission authorization._' He looked at Kakashi and said, "What did you mean by... another Hidden Village?"

Kakashi replied, "To minimize any questions to the Hokage, your sudden appearance in Konoha will be portrayed as an alliance with another shinobi village, the Village Hidden Under the Mountain. The secret of the Stargate would stay in Tsunade-sama's hands since the Hokage has sole discretion on making alliances with other Villages... an alliance with another nation brings the Daimyo into play. For that to happen, he would have to be informed of the Stargate."

Kurenai added in a soft voice. "And that would surely spread the secret of the 'gate beyond Konoha." She saw the look on Von Krieger's face and asked, "Weren't you told about this?"

"About that specific item... no. My official role is the military advisor to Konoha." He narrowed his eyes at Kurenai. "And since you brought the subject up, what about the Daimyo? The bio I was given on him was rather thin." Ric took the prolonged silence that followed as a bad sign.

Ric opted for a different tack. "Forget that I asked that question." He surprised his small audience of nins with a polite bow. "It was improper of me to ask you to speak candidly... and possibly ill, of your liege lord, and for that, I sincerely apologize." He gave them a thin smile as he straightened. "I'll learn the truth soon enough, with my own eyes and ears." Ric went back to taking items out the gym bag and added, "Now it's up to me to represent a Hidden Village that possesses only 2 obvious shinobi..." He glanced at Irina, then back his small group. "...for the moment."

Hakumei noted his words and where his eyes had gone to. "Did Hinata-sama... connect her to her chakra?"

Kiba's eyes widened at that question, and what it implied... before he could utter a word, Kurenai turned and said, "I'll discuss this with you later, Kiba-kun. For the moment please hold your questions... in fact, perhaps you should..."

Ric interrupted her. "Let him stay, Kurenai-san." His request turned all heads; he added, "As far as I'm concerned, if the Hokage thought he was important, and trustworthy enough, to be present for this occasion, then he deserves to hear more, and know the truth of things."

Ric gave Kiba a thoughtful look and asked, "You are the Inuzuka Clan heir, are you not?"

Kiba drew himself up and nodded. "I am." Von Krieger's words, and his eyes, gripped him. For whatever reason, his habitual urge to swagger was gone.

Ric looked at Kurenai. "Then he stays." He switched his gaze to Hakumei. "In answer to your question, no. What Hinata-dono did do, was heal her... she was close to death at the time."

Hakumei was unable to mask her surprise, and her sense of pride. "How?" She knew for a fact that Hinata lacked the skills necessary for such a deed.

"Hinata used an artifact given to her by one of the 6 Sages... Akarumu." Ric paused to let that fact sink in. "And it was Akarumu herself... I believe, that connected Irina to her chakra... and may have done other things to her as well." Von Krieger's words stunned everyone to silence. He continued, "I've a bunch of questions, and I suspect that the best source of answers is here, on this world."

-x-

Although very impressed, to say the least, Shikamaru could barely restrain himself after Daniel's last statement. "Wait... these people... The Nox... they have an invisible city in the clouds?" The others were as stunned as Shikamaru, he'd just spoken first.

"Hai. We only saw it from a distance, but it was incredible. I felt like you must be feeling now." Daniel replied, leaving out many of the high points of that mission, like dying and being brought back...

"That's a place I'd like to visit." Shikamaru said, almost smiling.

"Until I dragged him into this, he was a chronic cloud watcher." Tsunade said with a smile.

"Troublesome women are always complicating my life." Shikamaru replied, ignoring the glare Tsunade gave him, and added. "And I'm lucky to have them... especially you, Hokage-sama."

"Damn right you are." Tsunade said with a big smile. Daniel laughed briefly.

"I almost forgot Daniel-san... I have something for you." Shiho said then dug into her pouch a moment, pulled out a scroll and held it out for him. "I sealed a collection of books I think you'll find interesting and useful... from my personal library." Shiho said with a smile, and light blush she was trying to suppress... and failing. "Oh, if they didn't teach you yet, Naruto or Hinata can unseal them for you."

"Thank you Shiho-san." Daniel replied, and gave her an appropriate bow. "Oh!" Daniel lightly exclaimed, before he smiled. "We have something for all of you." Daniel motioned to an SGC tech standing nearby; the young man approached them carrying a large storage bag. After thanking the tech, Daniel opened the bag... and stared pulling out laptops.

Shiho's eyes opened wide in happy shock as a huge smile crossed her face. "Are those..."

"Hai. I have a laptop for each of you, just like the one Sam gave to Sakura." Daniel stated then handed each a specific version. "Sam wasn't thrilled about it at first, but she finally agreed. Jack had them personalized based on what he knew of you, I hope you like them. They open like a book, but on the side... black side down." Daniel explained.

Shikamaru was the first to open his, and chuckled softly. "The inside around the screen is blue with white clouds."

Shiho glanced at Tsunade and smiled a little bigger when she nodded her consent. Shiho opened hers and giggled. "It's white... down the left side it says 'Research', and 'Decode' down the right side. Thank you!" Shiho exclaimed, and forgetting herself for a moment, hugged him... tightly.

Shikamaru just shook his head and sighed, Tsunade laughed, it was obvious, to her, how Shiho felt about Daniel.

"Shiho, you're embarrassing our guest." Tsunade said after suppressing her laughter.

Shiho practically jumped back, blushing brightly.

"It's okay Shiho... I've had worst done to me." Daniel said honestly, and smiled when Shiho seemed to relax a little and nodded, obviously too embarrassed to speak.

Tsunade held the laptop in her left hand and looked at it a moment. "Naruto doesn't know about this right... because it wouldn't be beyond him to booby trap this."

"It's safe Tsunade-dono, believe it." Daniel replied.

A rush of emotions went through Tsunade that moment; it took everything she had not to outwardly react to those 2 words. She nodded then opened it... and a big smile forced its way onto her face. Holding in a tsunami of laughter she just turned it around and showed them.

Shikamaru and Shiho looked, and Shiho giggled. Like their's, the area around the screen was colored, her's was bright orange, and across the top in large black letters were the words, 'Property of Baa-chan'.

"It was Jack's idea, he said he had to do it for Naruto, and that you'd appreciate it... do you?" Daniel asked, hoping he was reading her right, because based on what Naruto and Hinata had told him, she could throw a car like they did a racquetball. He'd seen some incredible things, but that kind of strength scared him.

Tsunade thought a few moments before she replied. "Since he did it in honor of my favorite brat... thank him for me." She added with a crooked smile. "Now I just need to learn how to use the damn thing."

Daniel sighed in relief then chuckled. "In that case, I've a few more items to pass out." Daniel reached into the bag and pulled out 2 large, soft-bound books. "I remembered something Sam had said to me about Shikamaru... and instruction manuals."

Shikamaru shrugged, then stole a glance at Sakura. '_I have an idea where that tidbit came from._' "I don't read gibberish very well."

Daniel smiled and laid the books on the table. Shiho giggled when she read the title... Tsunade picked up one of the books. "Computers for Dummies..." She handed the book to Shikamaru with a half-smirk. "...this must be for you."

"And there's one more thing; I have a special gift for you Tsunade-dono." Daniel rummaged through his bag a moment then removed and held out a small, 2 inch thick, odd-looking book.

Tsunade accepted it, then glanced at him curiously.

"It's a picture album. These pictures were taken during the 3-day leave they got... I took a visual record of the highlights. I also included some photos taken by Sam as well." Daniel smiled and pointed at the album. "They both had a lot of fun and got to spend the day like normal kids from our world."

Tsunade smiled broadly, stopping herself before she squealed like a little girl. "Thank you... but I'll look at it later." Tsunade replied, then set it aside. Though calm on the outside, her 'Inner Tsunade' was dancing wildly, screaming with joy. She desperately wanted to run from the room and look at the pictures, but she had to wait until she could be alone. "Before that, continue telling us what we can expect out there."

Daniel nodded and pointed to Tsunade's laptop. "If I may, I'll access the specific files loaded onto your computer. I'll teach you the basics on how to operate the laptop, and give you an overview of the universe beyond the Stargate."

-x-

After most of the follow up questions to Von Krieger's news had been asked, Kakashi's curiosity finally got the better of him. "What do you need the clothes for?" He pointed to the neat pile that had been assembled.

Ric smiled affably. "When I was told of the test, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to recon my new posting... see the sights, get a sense of your village, and get my hands on a few things while I was here."

Kakashi's eyebrow went up. "As proud as I am of Konoha, I'm not sure what we have would be of interest to you."

Kiba looked up from the unloaded P226 Ric was letting him examine... after explaining what it could do. "We certainly don't have anything like... this." After getting close to Von Krieger's unusual weapons, he finally understood the source of the odd scents he had first detected when he had searched the spot where Hinata and Naruto had disappeared.

"Don't sell Konoha short." Ric replied. "And don't forget, at the end of the day, Naruto and Hinata _will_ learn of our trip here. While it was necessary to withhold the truth from them, I still feel badly about it."

Ric set aside a few items from his vest. "I figure that bringing a few things back, something that they like and can only be gotten from here... would serve as compensation, and an apology."

Kurenai smiled warmly. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Do you know what to get for them?"

Ric chuckled and replied, "For Naruto, that's easy... the one subject that's _always_ mentioned when the topic of Konoha comes up is..."

Kiba laughed. "Let me guess, ramen?"

Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. "That's not hard to figure out."

"True enough, I suppose... the problem is getting it back to him, and how much to get." Ric replied.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "I think I have a solution for you on the storage part. As to how much... _that_ depends on how much money you have with you."

Ric cocked his head in thought. "Good point, I'm guessing they don't take American Express here." He resisted the urge to laugh at their puzzlement, and reached into his gym bag. "I don't have any of the local currency, but I do have this." Ric pulled out a black, plastic tube, opened it and dumped the contents onto the table... 25 gold Krugerrands. "I assume that there's someone in Konoha that can assess their value, and give me the equivalent in local currency... yes?"

Kurenai picked up one of the coins and weighed it in the palm of her hand. "Turning this into Ryo won't be a problem..." She examined it closely. "...but the fact that it doesn't look like _any_ of the gold coins from any Elemental Nation I know of, would raise questions. A perceptive agent from another Village would look at this coin, wonder where it came from... and start asking questions."

Ric put on a sour frown. "That would be a bad thing." He glanced at the Stargate. "It won't stay a secret forever... but a premature leak of it's existence... would be a bloody disaster."

"You could take it to the Mission Payout Office in the Administrative Building." Kiba spoke up. "I know for a fact that they have a set of scales there; they could hang onto them there."

"That's an excellent idea, Kiba-kun." Kurenai said.

Hakumei set down the Krugerrand she was looking at. "Do you know what to get for Hinata-sama?" She asked Von Krieger.

"Ahh... no. She talked about Konoha quite a bit, but she never mentioned anything in particular except for..." Ric frowned as he chased an errant memory.

Hakumei said, "Did she ever talk about Matsumachi's Bakery?"

Ric snapped his fingers. "That's it... she did mention it a couple of times." He nodded and smiled. "Okay, that's settled. Now all I need is a place to change, and sneak out for a bit."

He looked over at Sam and Daniel, then looked over the small mob of SGC technicians busy setting things up. "I figure it'll take a few hours before everything's done here. That should be enough time for a halfway decent peek at Konoha." He looked at Kakashi. "May I impose on you to act as a tour guide?" Kakashi nodded agreeably.

"Ano... Von Krieger-san." Hakumei spoke up.

Ric waved his hand. "Please, I'd prefer everyone call me Ric. I'm not much for formality... unless it's necessary."

"If you wouldn't mind... I'd like to accompany you." Hakumei asked. '_He's nothing like what I had expected... I wonder if I could convince him to visit the Hospital, and get some blood samples from him._'

Kakashi added, "I don't mind the extra company... although I'd point out that your first name is a bit... unusual. Do you have an alternative name that you could use as a cover?" He gave it a moment of thought. "Riku... perhaps?"

Ric shrugged in reply. "I suppose so... it's probably better than Rico." Kiba snorted with amusement. Ric grinned at that. "Yeah... that is a little too close to a girl's name, and..." Ric closed his eyes and frowned in concentration. A few moments later, he was surrounded by a puff of smoke. As it dispersed... a slightly altered version of Ric appeared. The biggest difference: his silvery hair now fell below his shoulders, and he looked a tad younger.

His transformation was met with silence, although the Jonin's were all thinking the same thing... '_He made a Henge without a hand seal._' Ric noted the look on everyone's faces and asked, "Is the hair length too long? I kinda noticed that short hair is not in vogue around here."

Kurenai shook her head. "Oh no... it looks just about right." She snuck a glance at Hakumei, then lightly pinched her arm. "Stop drooling, Mei-chan."

Hakumei quickly erected her Hyuuga face. "I was doing no such thing. I just wasn't expecting... that level of mastery of the Henge from a non-nin." She replied in a neutral tone.

Kiba, by virtue of past experience, adopted a stone face. '_My nose tells me something else... but I ain't saying anything with a Hyuuga that close to me... I like my body intact, thank you very much._'

Kakashi nodded approvingly. "Looks fine to me. I'd be amazed if anybody gave you a second glance."

Kurenai and Hakumei traded looks. Kurenai thought, '_That's 'cause you're not into guys... baka._'

"That's good." Ric bit his lip and frowned. "I'm just missing one thing." He tapped his own forehead, then pointed to Kakashi's head. "I can't pass myself off as a shinobi without one of those." His frown deepened. "I'll have to make up a proper symbol for my Hidden Village pretty damn quick." Ric shrugged. "Oh well, I'll dream up something appropriate."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much, for the moment. Not everyone wears their hitai-ite on their heads." Kurenai pointed to Hakumei, who was wearing hers loosely around her neck. "But the common custom, even amongst the other Villages, is to wear it on the forehead."

Ric glanced about the room and nodded. "So noted. Now then, where's a good place to change?"

Kakashi spread his hands. "Why not here?"

A quirky smile made a brief appearance on Ric's face. "While I'm not shy, or overly modest by nature... what's the general policy on semi-public nudity?"

Kakashi discreetly noted the looks on the women's faces, eye-smiled and pointed to his right. "There's a break room over there." Kiba struggled to keep a straight face and remain silent.

Ric followed Kakashi's finger and noted a darkened entrance-way. "Good enough. I'll be right back."

===April 16, 10:20 AM, the Raikage's outer Office, Kumogakure===

Mabui looked up from her paperwork as Kumo's Head Ninja, Izumo Fuchida walked in holding a thick folder. '_He's not smiling, which is hardly news... but the folder he's carrying is twice as thick as the last time he was here._' She gave Kumogakure's senior-most Jonin her best professional smile. "Good morning, Fuchida-dono... let me guess... you want to see the Raikage."

Fuchida's reply was to loudly slap Mabui's desk top with the folder. "Good guess... except I want to see the Raikage _now_." His rare display of anger garnered the attention of Darui and Shii, each one occupying the pair of couches that flanked the door to the Raikage's office. He continued, "I will not be told to 'come back later'. Kumo has a situation that needs addressing... _today._"

Darui looked up from his signed copy of the newest Icha-Icha. "He's busy. Unless we're about to be invaded... it can't be _that_ important."

"Kumo has lost it's top three operatives in Konoha; one of them had a solid cover that went back 15 years... our remaining agent is taking an extended holiday in Hot Springs Country." Fuchida growled back. Everyone stirred at that announcement; Mabui hastily activated a security jutsu.

Shii looked up from a scroll he had been studying. "Even a blind dog can find a treat if it sniffs the ground long enough... just activate the reserve sleeper and be done with it." He went back to reading his scroll.

Fuchida put his fists on his hips and barked back, "I'd love to... except he's _dead_." He pointed at the folder. "In fact, by my best sources, Iwa and Kiri are in like-wise situations."

Darui looked up from his book, his usual detached, and languid attitude was noticeably diminished. "I think the boss has finished chewing out Kiraabi... probably."

Fuchida gave everyone a fateful smile. "That's even better, his presence is perfect for what I have in mind."

Mabui stood up and smoothed her skirt. "I'll go check. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, but no. I'll wait right here." He replied.

===April 16, 11:20 AM, top of the Hokage Monument===

"So, what do you think?" Kakashi asked.

"It's much more... colorful than I would have imagined." Ric replied. "And the mix of building styles is also rather..." He paused to select the right word. "...curious." He pointed down at the Hokage's residence. "Is this cylindrical style of architecture common on this world?"

After a short moment of silence, Hakumei replied, "It's a much more dominant style in some of the other Hidden Villages, it's considered rather traditional. Some sections of Konoha had to be rebuilt after the Kyuubi attack, the newer style of buildings required less time to put up."

Ric gave the Hyuuga a searching look. "That's the third time I've heard about that incident. Hinata-dono briefly mentioned in passing, and seemed reluctant to discuss it in detail. I asked Naruto-san about it, and he was even more vague... and less eager to talk about it."

Hakumei locked her face down. "That's understandable, the Kyuubi's attack cost us dearly. Many of the Clans suffered losses that impact them to this very day. And, we lost the Yondaime Hokage as well." Hakumei shifted her gaze to the village below. "Many important people, and things, were lost that terrible night. Other than a festival to celebrate the victory over the Kyuubi, it is _not_ considered a topic for casual conversation."

"I see." Sensing that it was regarded as an ill-omened topic, Ric let the matter go... for the moment. He let his eyes wander over Konoha until... "That's interesting." He pointed at a familiar, to him, structure. "Was that castle damaged during that attack?"

Kakashi followed Ric's gaze. "Ah, that's Kikyo Castle; it's suppose to be the Daimyo's stronghold if Fire Country is ever attacked... among other things. And no, it was damaged during the surprise invasion while the Chuunin Exams were underway. The Daimyo promised the Hokage funds to restore it but..." He let the sentence die.

"Ah yes, I've read the report on that incident." Ric took a step back and smiled at his escorts. "It's a remarkable testament to the strength, and cohesion of your shinobi forces. Given all that happened, the grievous loss of your Sandaime Hokage aside, you came out of it remarkably well. Historically, defenders put in that position usually _don't_ prevail, and cities they've sworn to protect end up as pyres. It says much of the people who live here... especially Naruto; he played a remarkable role in that battle... for a Genin."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes he did. For what it's worth, I truly believe Naruto deserved a Chuunin vest for his actions that day."

Ric nodded in agreement. "Never fear, I suspect that Naruto's worth will be recognized before too long; he's perceptive, smarter than many give him credit for, and he's very, _very_ strong."

Hakumei discerned the intent behind his words. '_He knows something is different about Naruto. Indeed, how could he not know, he sensed two fully hidden ANBU that even I couldn't detect... not without using my Byakuugan._'

Ric stepped forward and looked down at Konoha. "At any rate, if you're part of the Hokage's party, you'll see for yourself in about a week. In the meantime, I need to poke about your fine village, grab a few things, and get back before Sam has a fit... and Daniel goes into a sulk for not being invited to sneak out with me."

Hakumei put her musings behind her and gave Ric a coy smile. "I wouldn't worry about Daniel-san, I think he'll be far too busy to worry about that. And, I'm sure he'll get his own tour soon enough."

Ric noted her smile and sighed. "Ah, the schemes of women... oh well, like I'm one to talk." He looked at Kakashi and asked, "So, where to next?"

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Let's make it a surprise... by the way, I hope you won't mind if we take the quick way down."

Ric glanced down the cliff face, between the Hokage's heads. "Just so you know, I haven't learned to walk on walls... yet."

"Oh." Kakashi shrugged, then eye-smiled. "Don't worry, there's an even faster way to get about."

===April 16, 12:15 PM, Black Lotus Inn, Tanzaku-gai, Fire Country===

Jiraiya stared at the decoded report, neatly scattered on the tatami floor before him... an unimaginable mix of joy, relief, anxiety, and dread ran through him. He glanced at the sake-filled gourd next to him and checked the movement of his left hand as it reached for the gourd. '_No... not now... not until I'm back in Konoha._'

He gathered up the report and took off his unique forehead protector. Laying it horned-side down revealed a finely engraved storage seal... Jiraiya laid the report atop it and sealed it away. That done, he re-donned the protector and sprang to his feet. '_I've got to talk to Tsu-chan... I'll probably regret it in the morning, but I've got to use the quickest means possible to get back to Konoha._'

Quickly gathering up and donning his kit, Jiraiya took a deep breath, formed the Ram Seal with his hands... and disappeared in a wild swirl of leaves.

===April 16, 10:45 AM, the Raikage's inner Office, Kumogakure===

The Raikage stopped pacing. Normally, he'd be pondering the situation behind his desk, but he had smashed it to kindling 5 minutes into the briefing. "Now explain to me again why I should send _both_ my Jinchuuriki's on this mission?"

Fuchida's response was to point at Kiraabi... who was nodding his head rhythmically, muttering rhymes, and scribbling in a small notebook.

The Raikage, Ei, sighed and waved his hand. "Forget I asked." He walked towards the broad window that encompassed his office... and resisted the urge to leap through it, hunt down Yugito Nii, and drag her back to the meeting. "I still don't understand why we don't just establish a new spy network, and be done with it."

"Until we bring our remaining agent home, and debrief her, it's far too risky to pretend that it's business as usual." Fuchida waved the thick folder like a banner. "Their ANBU dealt similar damage to Iwa, and Kiri's operations in Konoha... until we get some indication as to how Konoha discovered... and then dismantled 3 networks, sending in new agents is pointless."

Ei scowled in thought and asked, "Do we know why, and how, our sleeper died?"

"No... and that's the other reason why I'm counseling caution." Fuchida replied, then added after a short pause, "And then there's this, Konoha has reduced their mission acceptance rate, and withdrawn 3 of their Genin Teams from External Mission Capable status... including the one solely comprised of Clan Heirs." Fuchida willed his face to remain neutral. '_Something is happening in Konoha... their decisive move against so many networks at once says as much._'

Shii snickered. "The Leaf nins are just spooked that they lost their best weapon... every Hidden Village worth noting knows the container for the 9-tails is dead. They're probably shaking in their sandals."

Kiraabi looked up from his writing. "Yo, is a shame da kid got put in a box, I was hopin' to clash with the fox."

Fuchida arched an eyebrow at Shii. "Don't sneer at the Fire nins; Iwa did that... and look were it got them."

"Paah! The Fourth is long gone, the Third is dead, and their current Hokage... _pfft_." Shii made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

Fuchida scowled at Shii's comment, while he couldn't disagree with most of his observation, he wasn't as eager to dismiss the current Hokage, despite her notorious past. Nor agree with the common opinion of Konoha's current state. No, the last full reports he had gotten from Konoha... before everything blew up, painted an entirely different picture.

"There's another matter to consider, Sand has reopened a dialogue with the Leaf. The late Kazekage's daughter has recently visited Konoha, and quickly departed... the current rumor that we're aware of is that an escort is being selected for the One-Tail's container, Gaara." Fuchida tapped the folder with a finger. "There's no obvious reason why Gaara should go to Konoha so quickly after a visit by his sister."

He shook his head slowly. "No Raikage-sama, Kumo needs to know what's happening in Konoha. In my opinion, our previous history with Konoha aside, Kumo missed an opportunity by forgoing their Chuunin Exam."

Fuchida gave the Raikage a cunning smile. "The essence of this plan is that the _last_ thing Konoha will be expecting, is a 'friendly' diplomatic visit from Kumo." He added silently, '_They'll be expecting you to fret and rage over this setback._'

"Doing the unexpected..." The Raikage grinned. "...catching them off-guard would be a pleasant opportunity... and with the 9-tails gone, they have _nothing_ to match our power." Ei's face grew thoughtful. "And perhaps other opportunities will come our way as well..."

Fuchida silently groaned. '_Oh Kami, not again... the Hyuuga Clan won't be caught off guard a second time, and a female Hokage won't react calmly, or logically, to the abduction of the remaining Hyuuga heir._'

He took a deep breath and replied, "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, Raikage-sama, I advise restraint. Despite our obvious advantage in power, Konoha has the majority of its strength gathered within their walls... and Suna would view _any_ hostile act by Kumo, as an opportunity to show their loyalty to Konoha." Fuchida rapped the folder with a loose fist. "Let's find out what's really happening first, then proceed from there... _before_ we trigger off a war with an unknown."

Ei made a sour face. "You're too cautious, Izumo-kun... but, perhaps looking first can't hurt. We can smash Konoha anytime, if the opportunity arises."

===11:20 AM, Training Area Zulu-East, Ft. Carson, CO===

Over at the eastern portion of the training area, Hinata and Sergeant Spears peeked around the corner of a simple, rude building meant to simulate a small, single-family home. They were in the midst of a modest, mock urban setting, normally used for house-to-house tactical training. A light gust of wind moved the cloud of dust away from the simple, rough, but usable hole in a larger, single-story building. Hinata had created the opening with a demo charge that she had reasoned out, and emplaced, with Spear's supervision.

He gave her a pat on the back. "Very nice, for a first-time effort." Ted stepped back and grabbed the handle of an all-terrain, steel and wood, stake-sided Radio Flyer wagon, he'd nick-named it the 'Little Red Wagon O' Doom', filled with demolition gear and explosives. "The triangle pattern you thought up, worked just fine... I think you've got a knack for demo work."

Hinata smiled, and blushed lightly at Spears' praise. "Thank you, Ted-san." She looked again at the hole she had made. "I see what you were saying about the placement and shape having an effect on the results." They moved to the center of the street and began walking further into the mock village.

She visualized what would have happened if she had used a standard Explosive Tag to breach the wall... it would have made a hole as well, though much larger, and possibly collapsed part of the house as well. Hinata looked at the different, crude buildings on either side of the street. "Would a similar pattern take down a door?"

Ted glanced at Hinata. "_Never_ go through a street door unless you absolutely have to... _always_ assume there'll be booby traps, and bad guys, waiting for you on the other side." He pointed at the hole she had made. "Better to make your own entrance, preferably more than one, and as close as possible to your objective, or the target."

He shook his head and pointed at the entrance to a three story building. "Doors, more often than not, are death-traps unless you know for _a fact_ that the bad guys haven't been there long enough to set up defenses. And even then, you toss in a grenade, or a flash-bang in first, just to say hello, _before_ you go in."

Hinata nodded. "Hai." She smiled to herself; Kurenai-sensei had said as much... in different terms, about the danger lurking behind doors. She looked back at the cute, but practical wagon her sensei was pulling. "Do we have... grenades to train with as well?"

Ted laughed and gave Hinata a quirky smile. "I might have a few back at the truck... I'll talk to Jeri when we chow down in a bit." He stopped and looked about. "Now what can we do next?"

===11: 25 AM, Training Area Zulu-South, Ft. Carson, CO===

After the explosive charge went off, Naruto's head popped up quickly enough to see the tree stump, in a tumbling arc, fly through the air. He grinned at Jeri and said, "I see what you mean, Jeri-sensei; the tag I used barely flipped the other stump." He looked at his attempt and frowned. "I'm still not sure that your way is easier than using Explosive Tags though."

Jeri sat up on his haunches and shrugged. "I'll grant you that the tags are easier, and quicker to use, but they're still only one-size-fits-all charges. There's also the issue of the tag maybe being more force than you really need." He rubbed his chin in thought. "And part of the reason for the difference in your results was where you put the tag, rather than the power of the explosion."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "I see that now, and I do want to learn more where to place them... they really didn't talk much about that at the Academy; Iruka-sensei talked more about how they could be used in traps and stuff..." He rubbed the back of his head. "...and about treating them with respect."

Jeri stood up and looked at Naruto. "And rightly so, you can't be careless with anything that has that much power... at least more than once." After a moment of thought he added, "There's one other issue about the tags, if I recall correctly, you need to be fairly close by to set 'em off, right?"

Naruto thought about it for a bit. "Hmm... the term you used was... line of sight, right?"

Jeri smiled. "Yup, that's the correct one. And, you also told me that the delay time had an upper limit, right?" Naruto nodded in reply. "Well, there you go... that's two big limitations right there, timing and proximity. If you wanted to use an explosion as a diversion, you've got to task somebody to make it happen. That's one less body for your strike force, or one more person than you may need to make the plan work."

He motioned for Naruto to follow him. "For all the clever things you can make those tags do, you don't have remote detonators... and you were short-changed on learning the where, and what, you could do with those tags. I can fix the latter problems."

Naruto grinned. "It's a deal. You teach me how to use them better, and I'll teach you what I learned about tags... you should be able to use them now too." He got a quizzical look on his face. "By the way Jeri-sensei, how do you chain your explosives together?"

Jeri grinned back. "Ahh, that's what I was going teach you about after lunch, the wonderful world of detcord... and you'll get a book I want you to study." He chuckled at Naruto's groan. "I think you'll like this one, it's FM 5 dash 250... _the_ book on explosives and demolitions."

The sour look on Naruto's face morphed into a foxy grin. "That sounds like a fun subject."

===11:25 AM Konoha Business District===

"That was interesting,..." Ric let go of Kakashi's hand. "...what's the name of that jutsu?" He felt a light puff of wind and noted that Hakumei had appeared next to him in a swirl of leaves... still maintaining the hand seal that triggered the jutsu.

"It's called the Shunshin; we use it to move about at very high speeds." Kakashi glanced about before continuing. "While it has no minimum or maximum distance, it is dependent on the amount of chakra you pour into it, and of course, how much chakra you have to spare."

"Ano... Riku-san, how large are your chakra reserves?" Hakumei quietly asked.

Ric sighed, then shrugged. "Hi..." He checked himself. "...She told me that it _might_ be Jonin level." He lowered his voice. "Actually, she couldn't say for sure... apparently my chakra appears as a dense mass, and with a deeper hue than normal. She also mentioned that she was unable to see my... central chakra coil... apparently my own chakra obscures it."

As fascinating as the topic was... Kakashi erred on the side of caution. He replied in a low voice, "This isn't something to discuss on the street." He looked about again. "Even if there's few folks about." 

"Gomen... my curiosity got the better of me." Hakumei blushed lightly and bowed.

Ric gently patted her on the shoulder. "No. The fault is mine, Kakashi-san is quite correct."

Kakashi eyed-smiled. "No harm done... besides, we can..." He pointed to a shop with a large, ornate, wrought-iron sign over the door, The Wolf Claw. "...have a freer chat inside."

Ric looked at the window display and whistled. "Let me guess... they sell the sharp and pointy stuff here."

Kakashi snickered. "That, and other things. This is the best shinobi weapons shop in Konoha."

"Well hell, that's worth a peek." Ric replied and headed for the door. "Time's a' wastin... let's check it out."

-x-

Normally, Tenten would have grumbled over the lack of customers... as slow days went, this was setting a new low. However, she was glad for the quiet; the contents of the open scroll before her, her notes and research on the mysterious ring had her full attention...

-x- (Flashback) -x-

===April 13, 9:26 AM, KSC, Gate Chamber===

As she neared the bottom of the ramp Tenten glanced at her guide, and her idol, Tsunade... took her breath away. The unexpected summons to her office had revealed nothing. However, less than a minute into the conversation... Tenten knew that something extraordinary was about to happen. The bright light coming in from the opening at the bottom of the ramp told her they were almost there. That Tsunade summoned her to her office hadn't been that unusual, though more frequent in the last month. What did surprise her was what happened next.

Tenten's fingers were twitching as she entered the huge chamber, then she saw Sakura, and Shikamaru working on something with an older kunoichi with shoulder-length blonde hair and thick glasses. Then her appearance connected to a memory of stories she'd heard... her name was Shiho. She stopped next to Tsunade.

Everyone turned to the entrance, Sakura smiled at the sight of another Genin, and a kunoichi.

Smiling, Tsunade looked to her right as she spoke. "So what do..." Then sighed when she noticed she was standing by herself, a low spiral of rising dust marking Tenten's former location. Tsunade looked past her experts and laughed softly. "I should of known." She said, amused, then headed for the 'gate where Tenten was now standing.

Tenten nearly jumped out of her sandals when she felt a hand on her right shoulder, spun around and sighed when she saw a very amused Tsunade standing in front of her. "Sorry Hokage-sama, I..."

Tsunade raised a hand to silence her. "I should of prepared you better... I underestimated your... enthusiasm." Tsunade said, then her expression shifted to Hokage Mode... which made Tenten snap to attention faster than most of her ANBU did. "Tenten, I was informed that you have special skills that relate to metal... and you can help me in a way no one else can."

Tenten's eyes opening wider was the only visible sign of her reaction.

"Every other resource I've tried has failed utterly..." Tsunade said, then her expression changed to an almost sad acceptance. "...do you know, or can you create, a diagnostic jutsu for metal? I need to know as much as I can about that thing." Tsunade said and glanced at the Stargate behind Tenten.

Tenten peeked past Tsunade at the others watching them, then sighed as her shoulders slumped slightly. "I know a jutsu that can do that, and more, but..." Tenten said quietly.

Tsunade saw Tenten's reaction, her instincts told her there was something more. "But? I'm guessing these jutsu are related to being a blacksmith." She stated quietly.

Tenten nodded; her gaze unwavering. "Hai, Tsunade-sama. As I did to be a Leaf kunoichi, I swore an oath to my Father that I'd never share or reveal these jutsu's with anyone outside our family. Used for... other purposes, these jutsus can breach any stronghold, open any vault... or create the most horrible weapons you could imagine. Only my Father, and a few other smith's in the world know them, which is why the best weapon smith's are so expensive... if you can find one."

Tsunade nodded. "You want me to clear the chamber while you examine it, yes?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama... at least for the first part." Tenten replied, then bowed.

"How much time would you need?" Tsunade asked.

Tenten thought a moment before she answered. "I think 2 hours is enough..." She glanced again at the huge metal ring. "...I think. There are exceptions for some of the jutsus... and the nature of the object being analyzed. I'm also assuming that you'll want me to teach them to a few people eventually, but I'll have to talk to dad first. But considering the request is from you; and, if it's even half as big as I think this really is..." Tenten chuckled briefly. "...I doubt he'll object to the _lesser_ analysis jutsus being taught, to people you trust without question. There is one little thing I have to mention. As honored as I am just to be here..."

Tsunade smiled. "Let me guess... you have to be compensated for your services."

Tenten nodded nervously and bowed again. "It is the rule of the Guild my father belongs to; and, as an Apprentice Smith, I must abide by them as well."

Tsunade smiled as she held in her laughter. "I can't pay you what you truly deserve... but I can arrange some appropriate compensation for your time and effort." She already had a few things in mind, if everything went as she hoped, she just needed to hear from the Shogun that everything was ready on his end of the 'gate.

Tenten's mind was suddenly racing at the possibilities of what that might be. "Deal!" Tenten exclaimed... louder than she intended.

Sakura laughed at Tenten's enthusiasm, whatever arrangement she had made with Tsunade, made her very happy. She saw them talk briefly, then her smile fell as Tsunade announced...

"Okay... everybody clear the chamber for the next 2 hours!" Tsunade ordered.

Shikamaru looked up from his computer. "I just got this set up... troublesome women." He said tiredly, then casually ducked Sakura's slap aimed at the back of his head.

Tsunade laughed, loudly.

-x- (End Flashback) -x-

In a flash, the open scroll disappeared under the counter as the door bell tinkled; Tenten schooled her face and looked at the door. "Welcome to The Wolf..." Her greeting mantra hitched in her throat as she saw Kakashi enter. "...Claw. Good morning, Kakashi-san." To her mild surprise, a Hyuuga woman followed next... the Hyuuga's were not big buyers at her parent's shop, or frequent visitors. What gained her undivided attention was the third person who entered... a man, an obvious stranger, and far too old to be a Genin. And, probably not a nin since he wasn't openly wearing a hitai-ite... in any of the usual locations.

For a few seconds, her natural caution clashed with her skill to greet and handle customers. The obvious look on her face caused Kakashi to make a reassuring hand sign... Tenten relaxed and resumed her duty as the seller of wares from her father's hand. "How may I help you today?"

Kakashi looked at Hakumei and flashed a series of hand signs at her. Her response was to return to the shop's door, flip the OPEN sign to CLOSED and lock the door. He announced, "We've brought a special guest today." And gave Tenten a twinkling eye-smile. "And I need some storage scrolls."

Tenten focused on the stranger... and saw nothing out of order until she focused on two items; his sage-colored boots, in a style she had never seen before, and a large, blackened knife... in a grayish-green plastic sheath. She brushed her fingertips against the hastily hidden scroll... and felt the thumping of her heart. '_Could he be from the ring?_'

Before she could speak, the man bowed and greeted her. "Good morning... I take it that you are the mistress of this shop?" Tenten nodded in reply. His eyes swept over the shelves and display racks, packed with every manner of edged weapon, and then some. He added, "I'm impressed beyond words. The quality of your wares..." He looked over the shop a second time, then focused on the display counter in front of Tenten. "...is plain to see."

Tenten blinked with surprise; while it was true that their products were the best in Konoha... the stranger's politeness, and simple words of praise, filled her with pride. She took a step back from the counter and bowed. "Thank you." It was all she could manage as a reply. As Tenten straightened up, her eyes went straightaway to the black knife, angled for right-hand cross-draw at his waist. "May I..."

Without further prompting, the stranger detached the knife from his belt and offered it, hilt-first to Tenten. She ran her finger-tips over the riveted, hard plastic sheath, turned it over and noted the large belt clip was plastic as well... and it rotated. She muttered, "Amazing." She felt a firm resistance when she pulled the knife from its sheath. '_It's molded to lock the blade in... and the haft... it's not wood._' Once fully drawn, she eyed the long, heavy black blade... its uncommon clip-point, a full tang, and a flat pommel. Tenten easily visualized what a blow to the head could do. '_It's a pure killing blade... so simple, and strong... it must be..._' She reached under the counter and produced a small steel hammer... and struck the knife blade with a measured blow... and listened.

Tenten's eyes widened. '_Its steel... but...'_ She resisted the urge to start an analytical jutsu right then and there. Tenten blurted out. "Sell it to me, please... ask any amount and I'll convince my father to pay it."

The stranger smiled and said, "Sorry, but no... she's been a faithful friend for many years. However, I could order one from the maker for you. The company that sells this knife has many different models to chose from." He grinned. "I'll get a catalogue for you, if you'd like me to."

"Catalogue?" The word came out as a squeak. Tenten slapped herself to clear her head. "Yes please!"

Kakashi chuckled. "Before we get too carried away, we still need those storage scrolls... 3 of the 20's should be a good start." He glanced at Ric. "And while we're here... can we get an assay of some coins? Getting an expert opinion on their worth would help get Riku-san a fair exchange for them."

Tenten froze as she moved to fetch the scrolls. "Coins? What kind of coins?" Ric pulled out the black tube, opened it, and gently poured out the Krugerrands. With amazing speed, Tenten produced a scale, carefully weighed 6 randomly-selected coins... and examined 2 of them closely. A minute later, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, she announced, "Based on their purity, weight, and uniformity, they're worth 58,000 Ryo apiece."

Ric's eyes widened. "Interesting... I wasn't expecting that much." He looked about the shop and smiled at Tenten. "I don't supposed I could start an account here?" She resisted the urge to leap over the counter and kiss him. Ric pointed at a set of shurikens and kunais laid out under a glass display. "Are these the best in your shop?" Tenten nodded vigorously. Ric tapped the glass. "I'll take 4 of those complete sets for a start, please."

===12:20 PM, Training Area Zulu, Ft. Carson, CO===

"Here ya go Naruto, Beef Teriyaki for you... and a Pasta with veggies in 'fredo sauce for Hinata." Jeri handed out the MREs then looked at his friend. "What do you want, Ted?"

"Hang on Jeri." Ted climbed into the cargo bed of the Deuce and a half. "Take those nasty things away from those kids..." He reappeared holding a large cardboard box. "...I've got a treat for everybody." He tossed the box to Jeri and climbed down.

Jeri looked at the writing on the box and smiled. "How the hell did you get your hands on this?"

Ted sniffed and made a sad face. "You wound me, Jeri... I can't believe you doubt my status as the best dog robber in the Special Forces."

Jeri snickered at the looks on Naruto and Hinata's faces. "Ted here has the mystical ability to obtain rare and wondrous items... just don't ask where, or how he came by them."

Both the nins leaned forward and stared at the box; Hinata asked, "What's inside?"

Jeri produced a small folding knife, opened the box, motioned to Ted with a flourish.

"What we have here is a selection of French and German field rations; the French rations are called RCIRs: Ration de Combat Individuelle Rechauffable, which is just fancy foreign talk for individual combat rations. The German ones are called EPa's, or Einmannpackung. The Germans sometimes get to the point for naming things, the translation is, one man package. They're not as easy to carry around as MREs, but they're way tastier."

Ted squatted next to the box. "I've got a nice selection here... the French meals have an entre, and 2 main meals; saute of rabbit, salmon with rice and vegetables, stewed pork and potatoes, stewed beef, and a bunch more. The German meals are a bit more straight forward; lentil stew with sausages, goulash with potatoes, Tagliatelle Bolognese, vegetable stir fry with tofu, each of them comes with a sandwich spread, and a bread or biscuit item."

Ted looked at the nins. "So, how adventurous are we today?"

===1:25 PM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

"Can I have a moment of your time, ma'am?" An older NCO approached Sam and Sakura.

Sam looked up from the tutorial she was walking Sakura through. "Certainly, Sergeant Mott... what's the problem?"

The gray-haired man waved his clipboard. "The install on the computers is 75% done, and the network is 50% done... but there isn't much point with completing the work until we figure out the power issue."

Mott handed the clipboard to Sam. "The problem isn't the voltage differential... they run it in steps of a 100 volts, at 50 cycles; I can work with that easy enough. The big problem... is dirty voltage. The hardware won't handle it, and a..." He looked about the chamber. "...generator, even a propane powered one is out of the question, not without proper venting."

Sam leafed through the entire contents of the clipboard before replying. "How long will it take to get the outlet adapters fabricated, and then the voltage converters and cleaners lined up?"

Senior Master Sergeant Mott rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "About 3 days for the adapters..." Mott nodded towards Sakura. "...no offense, Miss, but everything that was wired up in this place is completely goofy; you don't have a single standard that I can see, especially amongst your computers. Anyway, once I do the final calculations, I'll send out the specs for a custom job to our usual vendors. If you're not worried about looks... I figure a week to 10 days."

Sam frowned at the calculations, and notes written on Mott's report. "I understand, just do the best you can." She returned Mott's salute and handed the clipboard back.

===Nearby===

"Lemme go, dammit! I'll give that ojii-san a piece of my mind!" Himeko fumed as Ichiro tightened his grip on the collar of her vest. "How dare he call us dirty."

Ichiro sighed loudly. "That's not what he said Hime-chan... I think he was talking about something else."

Himeko glared at her childhood friend, "Oh really? Like what then?"

Ichiro parsed the older man's words in his head for a few moments before replying. "I think he was talking about how the power we buy from Taki, goes up and down in strength... and sometimes fades."

Himeko snorted. "So what... everybody's got that problem. I don't see..." She cut off her tirade when she spotted 2 of the techs that had come through the ring approaching them... carrying one of their computers.

===12:55 PM, Hokage Complex===

"That was a good idea, Kakashi-san... I can't believe he was going to only offer me 30,000 Ryo per coin." Ric got a thoughtful look on his face. "Unless he was going to sell them off to somebody else... and pocket the difference." He gave Kakashi a sharp look. "If I were you, I'd do a new background check on that man... and give his finances an extra hard look." He went back to counting the Ryo he had gotten for the Krugerrands.

Kakashi and Hakumei exchanged looks and hand signs... Hakumei (he very suspicious, yes?), Kakashi quietly snorted with amusement and replied, (he still alive, yes?). Hakumei shrugged and conceded the point to Kakashi... who quietly agreed with Ric-san's suspicions, and intended to bring the matter to Neko's attention.

Ric divided the paper currency into 2 bundles and stuffed each of them into a cargo pocket on his pants legs. He adjusted the hitai-ite around his neck; using the simple drawing he had made, Tenten had crafted it, right in front of him, in less than 15 minutes.

Ric smiled and patted his stomach. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry... where's a good place to eat?"

Kakashi motioned for Ric to grab his forearm. "That's our next stop."

===1:30 PM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

"Hi." The blond-haired tech greeted Ichiro and Himeko with a friendly wave. Both the strangers were young, wore glasses, oddly mottled clothing, and tool belts. The blond continued, "I'm Gilbert, and this is my buddy Lewis." The taller, dark-haired tech gave them a toothy grin. "Well... we were wondering if we could take a couple of your computers back with us to study." Lewis lifted the desktop model he was holding as an example. Gilbert smiled politely. "That's okay, right? 'Cause I figure since you've got your new stuff from us..."

Lewis nudged his friend. "Jeeze, Gilbert... quit rambling already." He hefted the computer again. "So it's cool, right?"

Ichiro and Himeko traded glances, the latter replying. "Why do you want our computers? Your's are clearly better than our's."

Gilbert and Lewis grinned widely, the former replying, "To see how they work... the Operating System and such, and I want to tear apart the software installed on this brick. I can't even imagine the source code it uses."

Himeko blinked. "Operating System? Source code? Brick?"

Lewis nudged his friend again. "I'm sorry... that's a word we use for a _really_ old computer." Lewis did his best to hide his reaction to the girl's other responses.

Himeko bristled and took a step forward. "What do you mean old? I'll have you know that's Ame's newest model! Do you have _any_ idea how hard it is to get your hands on one of those beauties!"

Gilbert and Lewis looked at the computer again... Lewis replied, "I'm sorry. I guess it's a case of mistaken identity. I thought it was old because it looked like my father's Model III Trash-80."

Gilbert looked at Lewis and shook his head. "Bro, that's harsh."

Ichiro tightened his grip on a growling Himeko and pulled her backwards. "Take what you like... I'll hold on to my friend until she calms down."

Lewis nodded. "Good idea. We'll talk later if you'd like to, I got a bunch of questions to ask you guys."

As they walked back to the active Stargate, Gilbert quietly asked. "Are they for real? My old Apple IIc Plus could probably match anything they got."

Lewis shrugged. "Don't harsh on them, bro. The more I see of the stuff they call technology... the less sense _everything_ makes."

===12:58 PM, Ichiraku Ramen===

"Charming... I remember a couple of places like this on Okinawa." Ric paused and motioned for Kakashi to go ahead. "I'll let you do the intro since I'm the stranger."

Hakumei halted next to Ric; she asked quietly, "So what do think of Konoha so far?"

"Other than it being full of ninjas... it's pretty nice." Hakumei started... until she saw the mischievous twinkle in his eye. Ric sniffed the air. "Sugoi... that smells _really_ good."

A young woman with long brown hair, standing behind the serving counter, smiled and replied, "Such kind words gets you half off on your very first bowl."

The older man standing next to her, smiled and waved Ric and Hakumei inside. "Welcome to Ichiraku's, young man... what's your pleasure?"

Ric settled onto his stool, flanked by Kakashi and Hakumei; he studied the menu board for several moments before replying. "Before I get started, I think it's only fair to warn you that I have a large take-out order to place as well."

Teuchi smiled in reply. "We're used to take-out, and if it's a big one, you may want to place your orders first; Ayame will see to those. I'll take care of filling the other orders."

"Sounds like a plan." Ric cross-pointed to his counter mates "You guys go first, I'm still deciding." As Hakumei and Kakashi announced their choices, Ric glanced about the interior of the cozy little ramen stand... noticing the orange-clad stool, and the plaque above it was almost a given. '_Naruto's wrong, he is missed... and respected._'

He turned his attention back to the young woman behind the counter... who was politely staring at him, and the hitai-ite around his neck. "I'll have a large Naruto Special, please..." Ric pointed behind Ayame. "...and if I'm not breaking tradition too much, I wouldn't mind having some of that lovely leek sliced up and added too, please."

"Normally, we don't make changes to the Naruto Special... but since you asked nicely, shinobi-san." Ayame looked again at the hitai-ite around his neck. "Leeks it is." She smiled and turned to start making their orders.

Teuchi picked up a pad and pencil. "So what else did you want to order?"

===1:39 PM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

Daniel looked up from Tsunade's laptop. "Taking a break?"

Sakura grinned. "Actually, Sam-san mentioned that she was hungry, so I decided to see if you wanted anything."

Daniel glanced back at the now inactive Stargate... Hammond had authorized an extension to their presence in Konoha, and had shut off the 'gate after Sam's reassurance that there were no issues that would interfere with Konoha's operation of their Stargate. In fact, most of the tech crew from SGC had gone back as well, except for a handful that kept at the cabling job for KSC's down-scaled computer network and server farm. Indeed, Sergeant Mott's temporary solution was to forklift over several large-array, deep cycle battery packs that would keep the important computers going for several days.

"Actually, that sounds like a grand idea..." Daniel grinned, then noticed the older Hyuuga woman appearing at one of the entranceways to the gate chamber. By this time, nearly everyone had clustered about Tsunade's computer. Daniel had gained a small audience: Kurenai, Kiba, Irina, several of the ANBU, and even Anko... to everyone's surprise, also sat quietly as Daniel lectured on the subject of the Stargate universe.

Hakumei rushed over, tossed a scroll at Kurenai, commenting, "Something for everyone... I'll be back later." She immediately Shunshin'ed away in a swirl of leaves.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What was that all about?" Sitting on the table behind her, Anko and Irina shared a lewd chuckle... Tsunade's backwards glance silenced the pair.

Kurenai kept a straight face as she opened the storage scroll, saw the small, attached notes, and began unsealing the contents of each marked seal array. She smiled faintly. "I think the issue of lunch has been solved."

A few moments later, several large bowls of Ichiraku ramen had appeared, and 4 different wrapped piles of buns from Matsumachi's had been unsealed as well. She passed out the food as directed by small post-it notes stuck beneath each sealing array. By this time, even Sam had come over to see what the bustle was all about.

Sam sniffed the large bowl of chicken ramen that Kurenai handed her. "This smells wonderful." She quickly set the warm bowl down. "And it's still hot too." She looked about the chamber. "Hey... where's Ric?"

Kiba replied past a mouthful of beef bun. "He left awhile ago." He pointed in the same direction that Hakumei had gone.

Daniel looked at one of the post-it notes and recognized the handwriting. "At least he didn't forget about us." He sampled some of the broth of his own bowl, a Naruto Special. "This is very good... now I understand why Naruto constantly went on about his favorite eating spot." He grabbed his chopsticks and smiled. "Class is now in recess for lunch."

===1:35 PM, Amaguriama, Konoha===

Ric perused the display of various sweet treats a second time. '_I wonder what's holding everybody up?_' After lunch, Kakashi said that he'd forgotten to buy something during their visit to The Wolf Claw. He had suggested that Ric wait at this particular sweets vendor, and took off after finishing his ramen.

Ric promised himself that he would figure out how Kakashi ate his meal with his mask on. His other escort, Hakumei, had grabbed the storage scroll holding meals for his friends back at Konoha's Stargate facility, and promised to return as quickly as possible.

During the lunch stop at Ichiraku's, Kakashi had suggested dividing the carry-out orders amongst 2 of the storage scrolls. Ric grinned to himself and patted one of his belt pouches. '_I'm carrying a dozen Naruto Specials... and I still have 8 empty seal arrays._' His mind was already moving a mile-a-minute at the possibilities. '_I could convert a full A-Team mission package into an arm-full of scrolls... and more._' The young teenager, Tenten, running the shop, had briefly detailed the types of storage scrolls, and the maximum size of objects that could be sealed. From Ric's point of view, this was a far bigger deal than the 3 basic jutsus.

A young voice derailed his musings on the possibilities of the storage seal. "Could you move aside please?"

Ric nodded, and side-stepped away from the voice. He turned and looked closely at the child... probably a girl, dressed in clean, high-quality street clothes. "Your pardon, ojo-san." Her two obvious features: she was a Hyuuga, with the same lavender tint to her eyes as Hinata, and a metal mesh vest peeking out... implying to Ric that she was in shinobi training.

Ric quickly broke eye contact and casually remarked, "They have too many good choices... besides their roasted chestnuts." He braced for a reaction from her escort. Based on his previous conversations with Hinata, Ric had a pretty good idea who the young Hyuuga might be. But, approaching her without a prior introduction, could turn ugly in very short order.

"Understandable, given you're a stranger... to Konoha." The girl replied with a flat voice.

Within a moment, it was apparent that she was alone... Ric knew at least that much about the Hyuuga's. Half to himself, he replied, "That obvious, eh?" A gentle tap of his booted foot with her diminutive sandaled foot was her unspoken reply.

Ric put on a half-frown, half-pout. "I like my boots." He turned towards the sales counter, giving the girl a back-handed, parting wave good-bye, and let out a quiet sigh of relief. '_If that's Hinata's little sister... it's best to break contact now. I don't need a run-in with..._'

"Hanabi-sama!" The irritation, and anger, in the man's voice was plain enough. Mr. Chakra let Ric know that he wasn't the only one... there were 3 of them. Ric willed himself to continue moving towards the counter; all he wanted was a couple of dozen roasted chestnuts... and a peaceful wait for the return of his guides.

Mr. Angry continued, "You cannot ignore, or dismiss your attendants in such a fashion." From the corner of his eye, Ric noted that the customers about the stand, especially the ones who had seen the newly-minted token of his Village, suddenly discovering that they had business elsewhere... quickly. '_Oh that's wonderful, just what I don't need._' Ric kept moving... until he heard a painful 'gasp'.

Ric really did want to let the whole thing go, but Mr. Chakra had other plans. He did a sudden about face, and saw the oldest of the 3 Hyuugas tightly gripping the young girl's wrist; her stoic face marred by a single tear rolling down her cheek... the angry frown on Ric's face stood in place of any comment he could of made.

The trio of Hyuugas turned to face him. All of them looked Ric over, then focused on the hitai-ite around his neck. The eldest of the 3 said, "Be gone stranger, and you can keep your life."

The youngest of the 3 said, "I don't recognize his Village mark, perhaps he's here to steal the Clan Heir."

The middle Hyuuga added, "We should take him to the Elders for questioning."

Ric slowly shifted his feet, taking a defensive stance. He half-pointed at the eldest Hyuuga. "You're rude... _and_ you're hurting someone worthy of the title of sama... which marks you as disrespectful." He shifted his attention to the younger Hyuuga. "You win first place for imagination... and last place for common sense." He took off his over-sized jacket, his utility belt, and tossed them both onto a low bench. Ric heard the shop's roller shutter slam shut behind him... he rolled his shoulders and set his stance. "And for the record, I ain't going _nowhere_ with you mooks."

Ric spit at the ground before him. "If any of you has a brain worth mentioning, you'll cease man-handling your ojo-sama, treat her as her rank demands of you, and walk away from me."

===A nearby rooftop, 15 seconds earlier===

"We need to summon the ANBU." Ino whispered.

"Shut up, hime-chan." Kouseki shot back. "And pay attention... this is getting good." Both of them were on a adjacent rooftop watching the confrontation between the Hyuugas and the stranger unfold.

"They'll kill him." Ino replied.

"Maybe." Kouseki pointed with her chin. "Think about it though; when was the last time you saw anybody face a Hyuuga bare-handed... let alone 3, and not flinch?" She took Ino's silence as her answer. "I don't recognize his stance, but he's not backing down. He's either crazy, or scary good... maybe both." Without taking her eyes off the scene below, she asked Ino. "Do you still think he's going to lose?"

===The Wolf Claw, 30 seconds earlier===

"It took a bit of digging, but I found it Kakashi-san." Tenten walked into the main shop. "We don't get too many requests for this one." She gently laid down a storage scroll that was easily a match, size-wise, to the scroll Jiraiya usually carried with him; she marked it off her list. "Are you sure Riku-san wants all of these?"

Kakashi, without looking up from his copy of Icha-Icha replied, "I think so. He seemed pretty excited about the whole concept of sealing things for storage."

Tenten shrugged, "Maybe they have more equipment and such to carry around. When I did my analysis of... it, Tsunade-sama mentioned that they have more machines than we have jutsu." Her line of thought was interrupted as she watched a small knot of civilians run past the shop, some carrying their children. "Kakashi-san, I think we might have a problem."

"Why... is his account over-drawn already?" He looked up from his book and saw the expression on Tenten's face. As he turned to look out the shop window, a second group of civilians scampered past. "Is it 50% off day at the Trade Tower?" Kakashi asked... he was starting to get a bad feeling.

"I don't think so." Tenten replied... and watched Kakashi fly out of the shop. After a moment of thought, she raced out the door right after him.

===1:39 PM, Amaguriama, the nearby rooftop===

"They have a clear advantage... why aren't they attacking?" Ino asked.

Kouseki resisted the urge to smack her apprentice over the head. "One, they have what they want, the Heir in their possession; two, they can't do _anything_ that would cause real harm to her; three, their opponent is an unknown who's confidently standing his ground. And the final point: he's called them out on their behavior, and he's _not_ wrong... in spite of his outsider status. Your father would have zero trouble getting at the truth of this incident... our testimony aside."

Kouseki sighed and added. "They're probably debating the pluses and minuses of killing him."

Ino scanned the Konoha skyline; the only thing out of place was column of black smoke, several blocks away. "Where are the ANBU... shouldn't they have shown up by now?"

Kouseki frowned thoughtfully. "That's a very good question."

===1:41 PM, Amaguriama===

From across the street, Kakashi and Tenten appeared in a swirl of leaves; after a long moment of silence, both of them had a basic grasp of the situation. Tenten quietly asked, "What do we do?"

"Nothing... for the moment." He replied.

-x-

'_Okay Ric, time to move the needle on this... I just hope Hinata will understand._' He spotted Kakashi, and Tenten, across the street. '_Perfect._'

To everyone's surprise, the stranger turned his back on the Hyuugas, re-donned his belt and jacket, looked about, then started walking.

===1:42 PM, Ichiraku Ramen===

Ayame easily noticed Hakumei's arrival via Shunshin... she glanced down the street then spoke. "Ano... Hakumei-san... Kakashi-san wants you go to The Wolf Claw."

In spite of the message, Hakumei noted Ayame's worried face and her glancing down the street. Her first reaction... she quietly spoke the word, "Byakuugan." A quick, careful scan told her everything she needed to know. After a long moment of thought, Hakumei Shunshin'ed away.

===1:41 PM, Amaguriama (Continued)===

The older Hyuuga spoke up, "Where do you think you're going?"

Ric snorted in disdain. "None of your damn business." He looked directly at Hanabi and bowed. "I sincerely apologize for leaving you in the hands of... riffraff."

The trio stiffened in anger... the middle and younger Hyuuga began shifting their positions.

"The first one to move against him will suffer my displeasure." Appearing directly behind the Hyuuga's, Hakumei's angry voice froze the trio in place. "Heizo... unhand Hanabi-sama _at_ _once_." The tone in her voice promised certain pain, if not death, for the least disobedience.

The moment the man released his grip, Hanabi ran towards Hakumei and clutched her clan robe. Hakumei added in a flat, cold voice. "All of you return to the Clan immediately... and be prepared to explain your actions to Hiashi-sama." She pointed in the direction of the Clan's grounds. "Go... _now_."

-x-

"That was no fun... she's such a spoilsport." Kouseki pouted. She saw Ino's face. "Don't give me that look, Princess; I heard your breathing... you wanted to see him fight too." She snickered as Ino looked away... then grinned slyly. "If you admit it... maybe we'll go down there to get a better look at him." Kouseki punctuated her offer by playfully slapping Ino's ass.

===Amaguriama (Continued)===

Kakashi eye-smiled at Ric. "Does this happen everywhere you go?"

Ric gave him a half-smile. "Haven't you ever heard of... all's well that end's well?"

Tenten chuckled. "That sounds like something Guy-sensei would say."

Ric looked over at Hakumei and Hanabi... the latter's hand was emitting a green chakra that was covering Hanabi's wrist. He asked quietly, "Ahh... what's she doing?"

"She's using a medical jutsu... that green chakra heals damage." Tenten replied.

'_Okay, so that's what Dr. Fraiser is all excited about._' Ric blinked and looked closer. "Looks interesting enough; how complex is it to learn?"

Kakashi replied. "Complexity isn't the issue, some of the jutsu's aren't that hard to learn. The real issue is precise chakra control. Only those with ability, dedication, and focus, ever have a chance of being truly skilled med-nins."

"Sounds about right... for many different disciplines." Ric commented. After Hakumei finished the jutsu, he moved closer and squatted next to Hanabi. A quick glance confirmed that the jutsu had done its job, her wrist looked perfectly normal. He replayed the memory of green chakra enveloping the girl's wrist. '_One more thing to factor in._'

"Thank you." Hanabi's soft words, directed at him, halted his musings.

Ric gave her a puzzled look. "I was prepared to leave you in their hands; I'm not sure I should be thanked for that, ojo-san."

"My name is Hanabi... not ojo-san." She stared at Ric for a brief moment before looking down at her folded hands.

"I know that, now. But, it's not polite to use a lady's name without a proper introduction... which you've just done, sorta." He gave Hanabi a playful grin. "By the way, why did you run away from your attendants?"

Hanabi poked her fingers together. "I wanted to buy something... father is letting me go to the Academy. They told me no... they said a proper Hyuuga didn't need such things." She reached into her black uwagi and held out a folded sheet of paper. "It's on the list of things I have to buy." Hanabi opened the paper and pointed to an item on the list.

Hakumei looked at the list, then smiled at Tenten. "Then you're in luck, Hanabi-sama. The person you want to see is right here."

Hanabi looked about and frowned. "This isn't where the shop is."

Tenten's eye's widened. "Oh Kami! The shop... Pops will kill me!" She disappeared in a cloud of dust... running full tilt up the street.

Kakashi pointed in the same direction. "It's just as well, there's something waiting for Riku-san there too."

===1:54 PM, Konoha Business District, The Trade Tower's rooftop===

Neko smiled under her mask as Bear unceremoniously dropped the still-warm bodies of 2 ROOT agents. "Report."

"The third member of this team got away." Weasel replied. "While I'm not sure what they were up to, their general path of travel would have taken them close to where Ginsho, and his escorts were." Weasel read Neko's body language and added. "The one that gave us the slip was a tricky bastard... he deliberately retreated into a small shop and used a jutsu to set it on fire." Neko watched Weasel hide a hastily bandaged hand. "We barely saved the civilian couple, and their child from the flames... an infant."

Neko motioned for silence. "That's enough... go to the hospital and get your burns looked at." She added in a softer voice. "You did the right thing." She looked at Bear. "Seal 'em away, minus their cloaks, and get them to Ibiki-dono, he'll arrange for an examination later on."

She turned to Inu and Boar. "Inu, take the cloaks to Shibi-dono... he'll know what to do with them. Boar... wait until things die down at Amaguriama, then have a chat with whomever was running that stand, _and_ any helpers... make it clear that they're going on a 3 week holiday to Tea Country... within the hour. See to it personally. Any questions?" Boar's reply was to crack his knuckles, and give Neko a slight bow. She grinned under her mask. "Excellent."

Neko looked at the ANBU about her and added, "Continue the sweep. Inu, once you've delivered the cloaks, do a close sweep around Ginsho and shadow him, but not too closely." '_It'll be interesting to see just how far his sensing ability reaches._' "Note _anyone_ paying close attention to Ginsho." She softly clapped her hands. "Let's get to work, people... let's make that bastard Danzo regret sending his puppets out in broad daylight."

===2:30 PM, Training Area Zulu-South, Ft. Carson, CO===

"Okay Naruto, let 'er rip." Jeri tapped his shoulder.

As he had been taught, Naruto called out, "FIRE IN THE HOLE." He looked at the tree, an easy 100 plus feet away and formed the Snake Seal with his hands... several seconds later, a fiery explosion went off; the tree fell in the direction Jeri had said it would. Naruto asked with a smile, "The next one?" At Jeri's signal, he focused his attention on a second tree and repeated the seal. This time there was a pair of nearly simultaneous explosions, far further up the trunk... the upper part of the tree fell nearly straight down, the lower part of the tree remained as is. "Now I understand what you were talking about, Jeri-sensei."

"Sometimes seeing's better than talk'n." Jeri replied. "By the way Naruto, are you ready for the next test? You picked up on the Heian shodan pretty quickly." '_His consistency with the kihon forms is nearly perfect... all the boy needed was structure, and proper supervision._'

Naruto put on a thoughtful face for a few moments. "I need one more day of practice... using the clones really helps, but... I want to follow up on your suggestion of trying out the kata while I'm on the walls, and the ceiling." He frowned and added, "My chakra control still isn't as good as it could be, in spite of the exercises Hinata suggested."

Jeri tousled Naruto's spiky hair. "Maybe y'or be 'in like Sam... yer try'n too hard." On the inside, he wondered. '_There's only so much he can learn here, and the best possible teachers aren't here._'

Naruto smiled in reply, and shrugged. "Maybe you're right."

"Remember what I told you, everything has a natural flow, and a rhythm... you just have to be able to feel it... and sense it... otherwise yer just swim'n upstream, and that gets you nowhere." He watched Naruto silently consider his advice and nod to himself.

Jeri picked up an over-sized shoulder bag. "Okay, one more drill, then we join up with Ted and Hinata for the final lesson of the day... then we head back to the barn."

Naruto grinned widely. "I can't wait to tell everyone about today... I haven't had this much fun in ages."

===2:40 PM, Training Area Zulu-East, Ft. Carson, CO===

"How do you deal with a really thick wall?" Hinata asked. "Wouldn't that take a lot of explosives?"

"For that problem, we use something called a shaped charge." Ted picked up a stick and scratched a design in the dirt. "When the explosive charge is packed behind a metal cone,..." He pointed to a V-shape in the drawing. "...and detonated a certain distance away, a jet of metal, formed from the cone, penetrates the target, whether it be a wall, or a metal plate. I won't go into the math of how it works, but trust me, it does the job."

"Is that something that can be... improvised too?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah. It wouldn't work as well as the purpose-built ones, unless you really know what you're doing, but it can be done." Ted replied, then added, "Just keep in mind that the core principle, and the effect in creates, can be used for other situations. Like everything I've taught you today, it's only the basics, what really matters is imagination, and creativity."

Ted tapped the side of his head. "The greatest weapon you possess is right up here, all that you see, experience, and learn, winds up there. What you do with all that, defines you."

Hinata looked at the simple drawing etched in the dirt, reflected on Ted's shrewd insight... and other things. After a long moment of silence, Hinata tapped the drawing with her foot. "This looks like something Naruto-kun would be interested in."

"But not you?" Ted asked.

Hinata smiled and replied, "I was taught that by-passing a defense is preferable to confronting it."

Ted grinned. "Now that's words to live by... and the smart way to get things done."

"Indeed." Hinata replied.

===2:35 PM, Kinomi's Ice Cream Shop===

"Is there anything else you wanted to see?" Kakashi asked.

Ric sampled the sakura ice cream he'd picked. '_Not bad... I'll bring Irina here to make up for leaving her to watch Sam and Daniel._' "Plenty, I suspect." He lowered his voice. "However, that earlier incident threw everything off."

Ric looked at Hakumei and Hanabi sitting nearby before continuing. "I've done my research on your charming and lovely village... and some of the more colorful personalities in it." He gave Kakashi a very pointed look. "Doubtlessly I'll be meeting many of them before too long. However, at this point in time, I'd rather _not_ over-advertise my presence here." He looked at the people in the street, going about their daily business. '_That dance party will come soon enough._' "And one other thing Kakashi-san, I do realize where I am... but are shadowers and stalkers the norm here?"

Kakashi closed his copy of Icha-Icha. "Shadowers... yes, although it does matter who's doing the shadowing. I was a member of ANBU myself, shadowing strangers, and important people, is part of the job." '_I wonder who got the task of following us?_' He eye-smiled at Ric. "Stalkers are a bonus."

===A Nearby Roof-top===

Ino released her jutsu. "He knows." She gently petted one of the several cats laying about her.

Kouseki snickered. "Of course he knows. The question is; for how long?" She'd also spotted the ANBU agent, Inu awhile back. Earlier, while Ino had been occupied with using her jutsu, she'd hand-talked with him at a distance, come to an understanding... and an agreement. Kouseki stood up. "I want some ice cream, and since you've done so well today, it's my treat."

===2:40 PM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

"So which of you is Hinata's best student?" Kurenai asked after she finished sealing away the last stack of empty ramen bowls.

After a long moment of silence, Daniel spoke up. "Actually, Hinata said we've all done fairly well, considering none of us was able to mold chakra a month ago."

Kiba froze in surprise, then looked about. The expressions of the faces of Tsunade and Kurenai-sensei told him that this wasn't some wild, elaborate prank. What was equally surprising was the lack of surprise, or shock on Sakura's face. '_She knows... I'm going to have to make an opportunity to talk to her later._'

Sam added, "We've all had issues with one or more of the... hmm... Hinata called them the Academy 3." Sam chuckled at herself. "I had no end of trouble learning how to leaf-spin properly... among other things. Hinata finally got it through to me... I was over-thinking it all."

Sakura frowned. "But you're so smart..."

Sam waved her hands. "No Sakura, that _was_ the problem." She added a shrug. "I made it harder than it needed to be."

"Who had the easiest time of it?" Kurenai asked.

Daniel grinned. "That would be Ric."

"That's not totally right, it took him twice as long to create a Bunshin that didn't look like a sickly cartoon version of him." Sam added.

Kiba, Shikamaru and Sakura all traded looks at that comment... they all remembered Naruto's futile struggle with the relatively simple jutsu. Shikamaru asked, "How long did it take him to make a proper Bunshin?"

Daniel and Sam exchanged looks. "Truth be told, he still has a problem with the jutsu. If he makes less than 10 of them, they start looking a bit... odd." Daniel replied. "And it's not just that, he has... had issues with his chakra and other stuff."

"Naruto had the exact same problem." Sakura said. '_And I was stupid enough to laugh at him._'

Tsunade kept her face blank. '_Hakumei has to examine his chakra before he leaves... I need to know what's coming here._'

Irina sniffed dismissively. "Darling is powerful man... Bol'shómu korablyú, bol'shóe plávaniye."

Daniel noted the looks of confusion; he helpfully added, "A great ship needs deep water."

"How long did it take him to spin the leaf?" Anko asked. For anyone hoping to be a shinobi, it was the make-or-break test... failing that basic task meant expulsion from the Academy.

Tsunade spoke up. "In the notes Hinata-kun sent to me, she said Ric-san got the leaf to spin in about 10 minutes; Daniel-san took less than an hour, and Sam-san took the better part of a day. Everyone else fell somewhere in between, except for the man named Hayes-san, it took him about half an hour."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Sergeant Hayes is a monster... he's the first man I've _ever_ seen go toe-to-toe with Teal'c in a spar, and hold his own."

Daniel nodded and added, "He's teaching Naruto what you call Taijutsu. Jeri had some very stern observations, and said some very unkind things about Naruto's training and education." He held up a hand as he saw Kurenai and Tsunade stir. "Believe me, Naruto is the first to admit that he was a less-than-model student, but he was... by our standards, remarkably _under_-educated."

Kiba snorted and shook his head. "That's no shock to me. Getting Naruto to sit still and pay attention was half of Iruka-sensei's job... that, and dodging a steady stream of Naruto's pranks."

Sakura frowned in thought, then stood up. "That's not totally true." She fell silent as Tsunade gave her a pointed stare, then motioned for her to continue. Sakura gripped her hands and added, "During the first year, Naruto-kun listened, and asked good questions." She shifted her hands behind her. "But the teachers ignored him... later they told him to be quiet. I didn't understand why... I didn't understand his questions... until I saw his notes." Sakura fell silent.

Tsunade's stomach fell; she had looked at Naruto's Academy file. '_The boy barely knew how to write._' She looked at Sakura's face... she was on the verge of tears. "Sakura, you don't need to say anything more. I understand fully."

Sakura shook her head. "No, I owe it to Naruto-kun. He was nothing but kind, and helpful to me from the moment we met; I wasn't the friend he needed. I didn't say anything when the teachers punished him for asking questions; I didn't say anything when they passed out textbooks... Naruto _always_ got the worst-looking, and oldest ones."

Tsunade leaned forward in her chair. "Did Iruka-san do that as well?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. He always tried to give Naruto the newest copies... that's why I scolded Naruto when he scribbled and drew in his textbooks."

"What year was that?" Sam asked.

Sakura sighed. "Iruka-sensei took over half-way through our fourth-year, then became our fifth-year instructor."

Sam reached out and patted Sakura's hand. "Don't worry, it's different now. He and Hinata get lessons every working day of the week. Everybody helps Naruto, Sergeant Hayes especially so." Sam struggled to keep a smile on her face. '_There's so much damage to undo._'

Kiba grinned. "Has he gotten any better at fighting?"

Daniel shrugged in reply. "Jeri keeps those training sessions private, but I suspect he's gotten better."

"Is Naruto's Sensei that good?" Shikamaru asked.

Daniel chuckled. "I remember the day Hinata-san connected all of us to our chakra. While we were waiting for Ric to come back from a meeting with General Hammond, Jeri wanted to better experience the flow of chakra in himself. He took on 50 of Naruto's clones in a spar."

Kiba and Shikamaru exchanged grins, both of them had seen what happened during a gang-rush of Naruto's. "I'll bet that didn't last very long." Kiba said.

Daniel's smile widened. "Naruto sent them against Jeri in groups of 5... then 10 at a time. He beat them... then the next group of 50, then the group after that."

Sam added, "I'd never seen anyone fight quite like he did. Sergeant Hayes seemed to get stronger the more he fought... hell, he was practically glowing when he called it quits." Sam leaned back in her chair. "I wouldn't fight him on a bet."

Kiba was wide-eyed. "And he's Naruto's Taijutsu Sensei?"

Daniel's face turned thoughtful. "A more accurate term might be... Combat Arts Sensei."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Our military is completely different from yours. We have far more skills to learn, and to integrate, before we're regarded as competent, and ready for action.

Shikamaru opined, "It'll take him a while to teach Naruto what he knows."

Daniel shrugged. "Probably. Jeri told me that he'd gotten an idea how to teach Naruto using his Shadow Clones to learn faster. I didn't understand everything about it... but it made sense at the time." Daniel smiled and added, "Even so, be prepared for a different Naruto when you all come next week."

Tsunade shifted in her chair. '_Would that Konoha had treated Naruto so well._'

===2:38 PM, Kinomi's Ice Cream Shop===

Without looking up from the small notebook he was writing in, Ric softly commented, "And here they come."

Also appearing equally disengaged, Kakashi used his peripheral vision to observe the newest arrivals to Konoha's best ice cream seller. '_Kouseki... and Ino Yamanaka; I'd heard that she had taken on an apprentice, but I didn't figure they'd be the ones following us about._'

While he didn't know the specific details, Kakashi did know that Ino had done something that had earned her the proscription of her Clan. He silently chuckled as he took in Ino's appearance... scruffy, bruised, and not very fashionable. "Nothing to worry about, unless you're a regular target of gossipers."

Ric half-smiled and nodded. "Duly noted." He continuing writing in his notebook.

-x-

Ino wrinkled her nose as Kouseki took a lick of her wasabi ice cream, then turned her focus to the man sitting next to Kakashi. Speaking softly from behind her large cone of rose-flavored ice cream, Ino continued, "Male, unknown Hidden Village..." She glanced at Kouseki. "Have you ever seen a Village symbol like that?"

Her Jonin-sensei slowly shook her head no. "Never, and I've seen _a bunch_ of them."

Ino replied with a whisper, "He could be from... it." Both of them, during the quiet moments of Ino's training, had cautiously discussed the alien object Konoha was hiding... 'it' had become the default name for the Stargate. Kouseki cocked her head in thought and motioned for Ino to continue. Ino added, "He's using a Henge... his hair is too perfect."

Kouseki snorted and wiped a stray bit of ice cream off her nose. '_Only Ino-chan would think in those terms... but she's right._' She focused her senses and frowned. '_It's a very weak Henge, I wouldn't have sensed it unless I was looking for it._' She indirectly focused on the unknown man as she enjoyed her ice cream. "Anything else?"

Ino frowned and made a negative hand-sign. "Just unknowns... for the moment."

Kouseki nodded faintly in agreement. "Enjoy your ice cream, you've earned it." After a long thoughtful pause she added, "I think I'm finished with evaluating your _new_ skills. I want you to increase your focus on medical jutsu training... if there's any changes to our training schedule, I'll let you know beforehand." '_It's too early to tell Ino-chan about the diplomatic mission; she needs to continue her training, and build on the progress she's made._'

"Hai, Kouseki-sensei." Ino replied.

Kouseki focused on her ice cream and considered what might come next. '_Ino's probably right, he's from no Village I know of, and as much as I would I enjoy giving Kakashi a little good-natured ragging... this isn't the place for it. Kakashi needs to know about the ROOT agents getting snagged today._'

===2:50 PM, Somewhere underneath Konoha===

Danzo looked up from the small stack of bedeviling reports he'd studying, acknowledging the presence of one his senior operatives, Fuu. He asked the kneeling man in a flat even tone, "Report."

Fuu raised his head just enough to make eye contact with Danzo. "The mission was a failure, Danzo-sama." Danzo briefly pursed his lips, the only sign of emotion he permitted himself... he motioned for Fuu to continue. "The dispatched team was ambushed by ANBU, only one survived to return... Sayuri." Fuu's eyes flicked to the open doorway he had come through, telling Danzo that she awaited outside.

Danzo sat motionless as he considered the news. The plan had been remarkably simple: from his associate within the Hyuuga Clan, he knew that the Hyuuga heir was preparing for entry to the Academy; Danzo silently snorted in disgust. '_Yet another worthless endeavor by Hiruzen._' The child would be permitted to run away from her escorts, and into the arms of a ROOT abduction team.

As much as Danzo would have enjoyed taking permanent possession of the Hyuuga, it would have been far too dangerous... for obvious reasons. However, he would have had control of the child just long enough to obtain a complete set of samples from her. Orochimaru would have been overjoyed, _and_ amenable to a major favor to him.

Danzo shoved his disappointment aside; it had been a hasty opportunity, not at all his style, though well worth the risk given what he would have gained. What did bother him was the unexpected intercession of the ANBU... he knew their various patrol patterns by heart. The route he had given his hand-picked abduction team should have minimized any potential contact. They should have easily avoided Konoha's elite guardians. '_No... an unexpected factor was inserted into this operation._'

He glanced at the doorway. "Sayuri, report." Noiselessly, a slender, dark-haired young woman, clad in a cloak and wearing a Phoenix mask, entered and knelt before Danzo. He flicked a finger at her. "Summarize the course of the mission."

"We departed as scheduled and made our way to objective by the route as laid out by you. I noted that the target had separated from her escorts, and moved to secure her." Sayuri paused before continuing. "Two and-a-half blocks from our target, the ANBU surrounded us... from the pattern they used, they had been acting as a screen..." She fell silent as Danzo raised his hand.

"So... they were waiting for you." Danzo mused aloud.

The masked woman bowed her head. "Perhaps, Danzo-sama. However, we were approaching the target via a parallel route... a full block and-a-half separated us. My plan was to get in front of the target, and trigger the abduction based on her actions. Before our team was engaged, we had made no direct movement, or threatening actions, towards the target." Sayuri replied, then anticipated Danzo's next question.

"We executed a standard evade maneuver, but reinforcements appeared before we could break contact. Kazuo and Sho, as per your orders, immediately engaged the ANBU permitting me to break contact. To halt any further pursuit, I caused a diversion." Sayuri slightly raised her head. "I escaped cleanly and waited at an approved hide-point for 30 minutes before returning." She raised her head further. "During that time, I made visual contact with the target... by pure chance."

Danzo raised an eyebrow. "I take it that she was not alone."

Sayuri's head dropped. "Correct, Danzo-sama. She was in the company of an older Hyuuga woman, and 2 others... Kakashi Hatake, and an unknown man."

Danzo gripped his cane tightly. "Continue."

Sayuri dropped her head further. "I was not in a good position, Danzo-sama; I only observed them for a moment. All I can say is that he was _not_ a Konoha nin. There was nothing unusual about his clothes, and other than being quite tall, and having silver-white hair, there wasn't anything distinguishing about his appearance... he was wearing a hitai-ite about his neck, but from my angle of view, I could not clearly make out a Village mark."

Danzo let out deep, silent breath. "Fuu, investigate this further." The ROOT agent immediately Shunshin'ed away. He turned his attention back to Sayuri... her head had sunk even further. A smile briefly twitched across his face. '_The patient player is rewarded._' "You've done well this day, Sayuri. You deserve a reward... I will think of something suitable for you." He waved his hand. "You are dismissed from duty for the remainder of the day."

In spite of ROOT's conditioning, she was happy that a mask concealed her face. She fully expected punishment for failing him. "Thank you, Danzo-sama." Sayuri touched her head to the floor. She silently remarked, '_It must have been news of the stranger._'

===2:51 PM, Konoha Business District===

Ric watched the departure of the two Yamanaka's, then looked over at Hakumei and Hanabi. The news from the Jonin was interesting, disturbing, and unexpected. He closed his notebook, put it away, and looked at Kakashi. "I take it that returning to... there, would be a good idea?"

Kakashi glanced up from his copy of Icha-Icha. "It would be for the best. I don't think there's any trouble in the offing, but my experience tells me... not to tempt Kami into showing her sense of humor."

Ric chuckled softly. "Truth... lightning _can_ strike twice in the same place, if you dare it to." He stood up and looked about. "Oh well, it's not like I won't be coming back." To his surprise, he felt a tug on his jacket; looking down, he saw Hanabi at his side, looking up at him. '_She is a sneaky one._' He gave her a half-smile. "Is everything alright?" Out of the corner of his eye, Ric saw Kakashi go over to Hakumei.

Hanabi tugged on his jacket again. "I'd like you to escort us home, please."

Ric sighed and squatted in front of her. "I'd love nothing better, Hanabi-san, but I've got to go now. It's been a very interesting day, I'm glad that we've met, and I've had a lot of fun... but duty calls. My friends will begin to wonder if I've run away."

He gently poked Hanabi's nose to chase her frown away, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Can you keep a secret?" Hanabi nodded solemnly. "If everything goes well, I'll be back... I promise."

Ric glanced over at Kakashi and Hakumei, and added, "But I'd like a promise from you as well... can you do that for me?" Hanabi nodded. "Good. Promise me that you won't run away any more. Okay?"

Hanabi nodded again. "I promise."

Hakumei called out, "Hanabi-sama, it's time to go."

"Okay kiddo, time to move out." Ric put on thoughtful smile, and reached into a jacket pocket. "Since you're going to school, you'll need one of these." He selected, then handed Hanabi one of his pens. "The ink is waterproof, and it should serve you well... it's not much but..."

Hanabi bowed low, clutching the pen tightly. "Thank you, Riku-san."

===3:00 PM, Training Area Zulu-East, Ft. Carson, CO===

"Okay, time for a pop quiz. What is Rule #1?" Ted asked.

"Never carry the detonators and explosives together..." Hinata thought about it for a moment and added, "...not in the same bag, and not on the same person, unless you absolutely have to. And, always carry the detonators in a safety container."

Ted nodded with a smile. "Good answer. Now then, what are the two types of detonators."

"Non-electric, to be used with a time fuse or detcord; and, electric... which must always be... grounded." Hinata replied, then asked, "Which do you prefer, Ted-san?"

Ted replied, "For the quick and dirty stuff, non-electric; the only drawback is when water is involved, and for that, I use a percussion, or friction detonator, with a 15 second delay, or an 8 second delay... for the latter, just be sure that it's either a small charge, or you can move fast, without mishap, when you trigger it off."

Ted reached into his wagon and picked up a green-colored device. "This is my favorite, an M122 firing device. Its used for the remote detonation of explosive charges with electric detonators. It comes as a package with a transmitter like this..." He extended the attached antenna. "...and 10 receivers. Its nominal range is between a half a mile, up 2 miles on the ground; 3 miles over water; and, 6 miles from the air." He gave Hinata a mischievous smile. "This baby is good for maximum mayhem, whether I'm blowing up a target, inflicting confusion and destruction, or anything I can dream up... which is _a lot_."

Hinata recalled her lessons from Kurenai-sensei on Explosive Tags, and how close you had to be to make them go off... and smiled. "Please give me some examples of how you've used it in the past."

===3:00 PM, Training Area Zulu-South, Ft. Carson, CO===

"Okay Naruto, let 'er rip." Jeri said.

Naruto called out, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" He squeezed the simple device, Jeri called it an M32 Blasting Machine, discharging the capacitor, and triggering off an electrical blasting cap that was inserted into a cleverly arranged pattern of 200-grain detcord around 3 small trees, held in place with duct tape. In the blink of an eye, the detcord exploded, felling the trees. Naruto grinned with delight. '_It's sorta like exploding string... way thicker though._'

Jeri got a thoughtful look on his face. "Hey Naruto, you wanna try an experiment?" Wearing a foxy smile, Naruto nodded. Jeri held up a small block of TNT. "I'd like to see what happens if we combine this, with one of y'or tags... what do you think?"

After about a second of deep thought, Naruto nodded. "Okay, I'm game." He looked about and asked, "What do we blow up?"

Jeri carefully looked around them and focused on a lone large rock, a little taller than Naruto, about 70 yards from their position. "Let test it on that rock..." Jeri glanced at the half-pound block of TNT. "...I figure if you place it slightly underneath that rock... it might flip it, maybe bust it up a bit." He handed the TNT to Naruto, who quickly wrapped a Tag around it, ran out to the rock and buried it.

While Naruto was fixing the charge in place, Jeri moved back to a shallow ditch and motioned to Naruto to join him there. After they both settled in, Jeri gave Naruto the go-ahead... he yelled out the warning, and made the Hand Seal... several seconds later, a larger-than-expected fireball erupted, followed by a loud explosion. Both of them ducked as a bowling ball-sized rock fragment flew past them... after the dust settled down, the rock had disappeared, replaced by a crater... only small, jagged pieces remained.

"Well... that answers _that_ question." Jeri stood up and brushed off the small bits of rock that had rained down on them. "That was a bit more than I was figger 'en on."

Naruto shook the dust and rock fragments out of his hair and grinned wildly. "Can we try the C4 next?"

Jeri raised an eyebrow as he looked at the crater, then shook his head. "Nope... not 'til I figger out what the multiplier on that charge was." '_Hmm... I need to tell the Boss about this._'

Naruto held up an Explosive Tag. "Then how about this and some of that detcord stuff?"

Jeri eyed the Tag. "Maybe... but we'll start with the 50-grain cord first." He started walking towards the former location of the rock. "After we measure the size of that crater first."

===3:04 PM, Gate Chamber, KSC===

Kakashi and Ric appeared, walking through one the tunnel openings. "So where the hell have you been?" Sam asked.

"Checking out the sights... and getting acquainted with my... our new home." Ric replied breezily. Kakashi headed over to Kurenai after Ric let go of his arm.

Sam's face went blank with confusion; Daniel smiled to himself. '_Looks like my guess was correct._'

Irina rushed over and gave Ric a hug. "Darling, you were gone for so long,..." She gave him a coy smile. "...did you bring me anything?"

Sam shook her head. "What did you mean, your new home?"

Irina giggled. "Silly woman, darling is new Military Advisor here... and I assist him." She gave Ric a smile. "Da?" Ric nodded in reply.

Ric smiled at Sam. "Now then Major Carter, no grumpy face, or there's no ice cream for you."

Sakura sat up in her chair. "Did you go to Kinomi's?" She grinned at Ric's nod. "Oh good, I love their ice cream."

Anko grumbled. "Dango is better."

Tsunade stepped forward. "I hope Konoha met with your expectations, Colonel Von Krieger."

Ric smiled. "It was delightful... and very charming." He looked about the chamber and noticed that much of the new equipment had been set up. "I like what's been done with the place."

Ric looked at Daniel. "Knowing you, I suspect that everyone's gotten at least one lecture so far."

"Daniel-san and Sam-san have taught us quite a bit, and helped everyone with the new computers." Shiho replied and added, "There's so much new information, and so much to learn." Everyone around her nodded in agreement.

Tsunade smiled to herself. '_This is what I was hoping for... and there's so much more to do._'

"What happened to Haku-chan?" Kurenai asked Kakashi.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "She had to return a runaway princess to her castle." He pointed at Ric. "We're partly late because he insisted on rescuing her."

"You've already had an adventure, and you didn't take me along?" Irina pouted, then switched to a suspicious look. "You're not cheating on me already, are you Darling?"

Ric snorted and gave Irina a dubious look. "Hardly, she's all of 7 years old."

Sam frowned. "Colonel? Princesses? What the hell..."

Ric unrolled a storage scroll. "Have some ice cream, Sam. That should calm you down." He began unsealing various treats for everyone.

Shiho leaned closer to Daniel and asked, "Is he always like this?"

Daniel grinned. "According to Jack, this was a good day... he didn't blow up half of Konoha, and he didn't kill anybody." He looked at Ric. "Konoha is still in one piece, right?"

Ric kissed Irina and handed her a pint of honey ice cream. "It was the last time I looked."

Sakura, Kiba, and Shikamaru exchanged looks... Akamaru arfed, adding his two cents.

Kakashi commented, "There was an almost-fight with a trio of Hyuugas."

Anko laughed. "I would have paid to see that." Kurenai looked at her friend and just shook her head.

"I'm looking forward to reading all about it in the mission report." Sam commented.

Ric handed pint-cups of ice cream to Shiho and Daniel. "What's Sam so grumpy about?"

Sakura spoke up. "Kurenai-san taught Irina-san how to spin a leaf... it took her less than an hour to learn how to do it. Irina-san's ability to focus is... substantial." She looked at Tsunade. "And Hokage-sama has been showing Irina-san how to do hand seals."

Ric smiled and bowed in the direction of Tsunade. "Thank you. I'm glad everyone helped Irina feel welcome."

Shikamaru asked, "Did you learn anything today, Ric-san?"

"Quite a bit... and Kakashi-san taught me a new jutsu."

Kakashi blinked in surprise. "I did?"

"Well... not directly, but after the seventh use of the Shunshin..." Ric disappeared in a swirl of leaves and reappeared several feet away, next to Tsunade, and handed her a cup of sake-flavored ice cream, with a friendly smile. "...I think I've got a working start with it."

In a soft voice, he added, "I'd like a private conversation with you before I go back, Hokage-dono." She acknowledged his request with a slight nod.

Sam grumbled and looked at Daniel, "I told you he cheats."

Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up... along with several other people present. "He just did a Shunshin without forming the Ram Seal, not to mention learning the jutsu in less than a day."

"I learned the same jutsu in less than a day." Sakura replied mildly.

Kakashi gently tapped the back of Sakura's head. "You also have the finest chakra control I've ever seen in a Genin." She let out a tiny smile and dug into her ice cream.

Anko grinned as Ric handed her a large stack of dango... Anko did a brief happy dance as she returned to her chair.

Kurenai quietly commented to Shikamaru, "Hinata-chan thinks that Ric-san's chakra molds itself... among other things."

Kiba gave his Sensei his best, you've got to be shitting me, look.

Tsunade watched the growing chatter, side-conversations, and smiled. '_The SGC people have only been here for a few hours, and they're already inducing change._' She also considered the other news she'd been given. '_And then there's the incident with the ROOT agents... Danzo's going to begin asking questions, and start sniffing around._'

Tsunade muttered. "I knew it was too good to last."

Anko appeared next to her holding a large bottle of sake. "Wanna drink?"

Tsunade gave Anko an arched look. "Put that away." She added silently, '_Don't tempt me._'

-x-

"Thank you for taking the time to talk to me." Ric smiled.

Tsunade gave him a half-smile and nodded. "So, what did you want to discuss?" She sat down heavily.

"Since this is our first real opportunity to talk face-to-face, let's call it a courtesy chat..." Ric turned a chair backwards and sat down. "...and an opportunity to get our stories straight."

Tsunade frowned thoughtfully. "I think I understand what you mean, but I'd like your thoughts on the matter."

Ric leaned forward and rested his chest on the back of the chair. "Okay... as it is, back on Earth, the Stargate is considered a state secret. It stands to reason that it'll be no different here except... this is a village full of shinobi, surrounded and beset by hostile villages full of shinobi." Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Given all that, keeping secrets _is_ second nature for everybody involved... however, I suspect this matter is on a whole new level, even for you."

Tsunade resisted the urge to groan. The man before her had easily summarized the problem that was giving her sleepless nights. "You could say that." Oddly enough, the cunning look in Von Krieger's eyes made her feel more at ease, rather than the usual reaction. "Do you have a solution?"

Ric shrugged, but maintained a vaguely sly smile. "Possibly. We have a saying where I come from: three people can keep a secret, if two of them are dead."

Tsunade snorted in amusement and smirked. "That's true enough... and it sounds like something my old Sensei would say." She briefly remembered her first meeting with her Jonin-sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the legendary Third Hokage and smiled fondly. "But I see your point, this secret won't stay a secret... not for very long."

Ric nodded in agreement. "Exactly. The only way I can see hanging to the core secret, the Stargate, is to allow a false secret to come to light, and let everyone seize on _that_ one... while the real secret slips away."

Tsunade stiffened with surprise. '_It's such a simple ploy... this could work._' "How would you do it?"

Ric frowned thoughtfully, then asked, "Let me ask you a question first: how firm is the relationship between Konoha and Wave."

"The Land of Wave?" Tsunade blinked in surprise. "By all accounts, quite good." She smiled and added, "Naruto's first mission led to them being freed from the grip of a vile man named Gato... and a bridge being named after the annoying brat." Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"

"So if you sent someone to approach their Daimyo..." Ric asked.

Tsunade broke in on Ric's question. "Wave has no Daimyo... currently. Through a combination of threats and bribes from Gato, what passed for an excuse of a Daimyo in Wave..." She made a sour face. "...took his family and court... and fled."

Tsunade smiled at the look of surprise on Ric's face. "Admittedly, I haven't kept up on the news from Wave, but as far as the last report I've read, they're relatively prosperous... though not very wealthy by anyone's measure, and pretty much ignored by everybody."

She frowned in thought and added. "Except for some minor pirate activity in the area, I'd describe Wave as peaceful, and perhaps a bit sleepy."

'_This is better than I could have hoped for._' Ric grinned slyly. "Perfect... and just what the doctor ordered." He eye-smiled at the look on Tsunade's face. Ric stood up and nodded. "If it's possible, I'd like to read the most recent reports concerning Wave, and I'd like a written summary, from you, on _all_ the current power-players in Konoha... and the Fire Daimyo's court."

Tsunade nodded and replied, "I can do that, but a summary that extensive will take some time." After a moment of reflection, she added, "I'll give you the court summary, but on one condition... no one in Konoha knows I gave it to you, and it never sees the light of day within this Village." She added a frown. "By all rights, I should refuse your request... it could cost me my head."

Ric nodded and replied in quiet voice, "I understand completely, and I agree to your terms. And, any delay isn't a problem... the summary won't become critical until we get to the point where I, and my team... such as they are, are presented to your people, and the various important personages in Konoha." Ric nodded to himself. "By that time, I'll have a full deception plan written up involving Wave's role."

Ric straightened his jacket and smiled. "Can I assume that you'd have no objection to me popping into Konoha without warning over the next several days? I realize you'll be busy getting ready for your visit to SGC, but I need to see your original files on a number of subjects, and issues, as quickly as possible. I'd also like to introduce my senior NCO, Sergeant Major Hayes, to everybody, and I'd appreciate the opportunity to talk in-depth with your key people."

Tsunade shook her head. "No... I wouldn't mind it at all. By the way, we still have to arrange for a place for you, and everyone else to stay here in Konoha."

Ric frowned at the mention of that detail. "Hmm... I think the best way to handle that issue is to take it in stages." His frown deepened. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, until I formally present myself to everyone in Konoha, I think it would be best to stay here,..." He waved his hand vaguely about. "...somewhere inside this complex."

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Ric continued, "After a certain point, I suspect that openly staying in Konoha could get very problematic."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Ric sighed. "My personal experience has shown me that two things happen when I get posted to a new mission; I get a welcoming party... and an assassination attempt. Actually, more often than not, multiple assassination attempts."

Tsunade weighted his words and read him closely. '_He's not joking._' "I don't think that'll be an issue here, our ANBU deals with external threats quite effectively." She watched his face turn neutral.

"Not all assassins come from outside the wire, Hokage-dono... and no, I'm not casting _any_ suspicion on you; I'm just mindful of the fact that sometimes not everyone is pleased with my presence." Ric replied, and added. "The only person in Konoha I trust without reservation is you... and most of the people you've trusted enough to be within spitting distance of the Stargate." He bowed to Tsunade. "Forgive my bluntness on this matter, but I prefer honesty over empty pleasantries."

Tsunade resisted the urge to laugh. '_I don't have to worry about him fitting in here._' "That's quite all right Ric-san... your attitude on certain matters is quite normal... for here. And as to internal threats, I'm hoping that your presence will assist me in clearing up some old issues that I've been wanting to settle."

Ric chuckled and shook his head. "This wouldn't be the first time I've served as bait, and I appreciate your candor in that regard." He grinned widely. "I'll do my best to be as tasty, and as lethal, as possible." He held out his hand to Tsunade.

Recognizing the gesture, she took Ric's hand an shook it. "I don't doubt it."

"Good... as we say it, one hand washes the other." Ric replied.

Tsunade grinned. "I'm glad you feel that way." She stood up slowly moved towards Ric. "And since we're in a private setting... I've been hoping to touch on another subject."

Ric gave Tsunade a cautious smile. "Do tell." He gave Mr. Chakra a quick check. '_Nope, no warning signals here._'

Tsunade's smile turned coy. "Yes. I want to know more about your family... especially the undiscussed portion... your obasama's clan."

'_Shit... I should have seen that coming._' Ric smiled weakly. "There isn't that much to say... we're not on speaking terms at the moment."

Tsunade smiled and moved closer. "That's alright, I'm sure you'll remember more than you think you do."

'_Hmm... what to do?_' Ric mentally shuffled through several scenarios; he smiled to himself. '_When in doubt... retreat._' There was a sudden, large puff of smoke... and a very large white wolf bounded out of the room with amazing speed.

Tsunade frowned as the smoke swirled around her. '_I think Kakashi's rubbing off on him._' From the chamber beyond, she heard yells, and minor mayhem. '_And maybe Naruto too._'

===4:24 PM, Training Area Zulu, Ft. Carson, CO===

"Did you learn a lot today?" Naruto asked.

Hinata gave him a thumbs up and gave him a happy smile. "Ted-san is very knowledgeable, and a good Sensei."

Ted grinned and then asked, "By the way, what the heck were you guys up to? Those were some pretty big explosions y'all set off."

Naruto and Jeri shared a conspiratorial smile. Jeri brushed off some more dust and replied, "Nuthin much, just a 'lil experiment, or three." Then he gave Hinata a good-natured, but pointed look.

Hinata giggled in response. "You're a very good Sensei too, Jeri-san, but you're Naruto's Sensei more than anything else... not that I mind. Honestly though, between Sam-san, and Janet-sensei, I have more than enough to keep me busy."

"Hinata-san is a apt and clever student, and has a keen eye." Ted commented. "Give me a week and I could teach her to take down a 3 span bridge with no sweat." He turned his attention to Naruto and Jeri. "So what did you teach the lad?"

Naruto let out a foxy grin. "Detcord is really cool! Especially the 250 grain stuff... and Hinata, we need to add duct tape to our nin... our tool sets." He tried to ignore the hooded stare from Sergeant Spears.

"Do tell." Ted quietly commented.

Hinata muttered. "Naruto no baka."

Ted gave Jeri a perceptive look. "Well... _that_ explains our earlier chat." He shook his head slowly and gave Jeri a subtle smile. "This happens _every_ time you hang around with Captain Crazy... it's a wonder you're still alive." Ted held up a forfending hand. "Say no more, I'll give you a hand with your..." He noted the questioning looks on Naruto and Hinata's faces, guessed that they were in the dark about Von Krieger's mission, and chose discretion. "...situation."

Naruto looked at Jeri. "Captain Crazy?"

Hinata's eyes flicked from Ted to Jeri, and back to Ted. "I think he's taking about Ric-dono."

Jeri sighed. "It's the Boss's old nickname... it isn't meant in a bad way." He gave Ted a warning look, then studied the cloud-speckled sky. '_We still need to tell the kids about going to Konoha... the boss said he'd take care of that. I just need to reassure Naruto that I'll still be available to help him as much as I can... I will make time for him, he deserves as much, and I promise to try to fix the messed-up system that spit him out half-trained._'

Jeri glanced down and saw the look on Naruto's face; he gave Naruto a faint smile. "We'll talk about it later, son."

Jeri's smile didn't lessen the uneasy feeling Naruto had in his gut. Unprompted, the Kyuubi spoke up. "**Don't press him Naruto, he's troubled about something... but he's always been truthful with you. Let things develop at their own pace.**" Even though Naruto didn't respond, she sensed his agreement, after a fashion.

Ted, hoping to kill two birds with one stone, approached Jeri and suggested, "Why don't I drop by when you get some spare time, the beers will be on me... we can chat about the good old days and such."

Jeri, understanding the trade-off, nodded. "Yeah, we should do that." He let out a quirky smile. '_He was bound to find out, sooner or later, maybe this will help with getting the help we need._'

===4:30 PM, Gate Chamber, KSC===

Standing at the newly assembled control and monitoring station, Sam poked Sakura in the arm. "Why the long face?"

Sakura ran her hand over a laminated checklist that Sam had made up for her; she sighed softly. "I guess I'm being silly... it's not like we won't see each other again. I just wish you didn't have to go so soon, there's still so many questions I want to ask, and things I want to know more about." She fiddled with the pouches on her Chuunin vest.

Sam recalled the very first day she laid eyes on the Stargate and smiled to herself. "I understand how you feel, once upon a time, I stood where you are now and I realized that my world would never be the same." She gave Sakura a gentle pat on the back. "Don't worry, it'll get better... and, remember that in a week, you'll be visiting us."

Sakura's face fell; she replied softly, "Except for me. I won't be coming, Tsunade needs me here..." Her voice fell to a whisper. "...and I'm not ready, or worthy, to see Naruto again."

Sam resisted the urge to give Sakura a hug. '_I wish there was an easy path for you, Sakura, but that's not my fight._' "I can't comment on the ready part, but I'd like to think that Naruto would be proud of all you've done, especially given your starting point. With neither the education, or the training I had, you've done so much, and want to do more... that says much about you, Sakura."

Sakura gave Sam a faint smile. "Thank you, Sam-san."

She gave Sakura a gentle shake. "When I was your age, I was a quiet, nerdy little girl with my nose stuck in a book... and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I'd be where I am now. The future is yours, and it's as wide as the open sky... focus on that, instead of getting all emo about yourself."

-x-

"So when will you be coming back?" Kurenai asked.

Ric and Irina traded looks, and amused smiles. He picked up a SAW, slipped its sling over his shoulder and settled it in place. "Probably sooner than some might want." He glanced over at Daniel talking to Shiho and Shikamaru.

Anko followed his eyes and snickered evilly. "What's the big deal, she probably wanted to show him her... Itai!" She rubbed the back of her head and glared at Kurenai.

"Ric-san apologized for that accident... and not everyone's a flasher like you." Kurenai snorted, then added, "And I remember _somebody_ squealing like an Academy first-year... when Ric-san leapt on you..."

Anko held up a warning hand. "If _anybody_ says a word about that, they'll be getting a midnight visit by me." She gave an evil look at Kiba. "And I still have to pay you back for that crack you made."

Kiba stepped back at her glare... then surprised the nins, particularly his Sensei, when he stood his ground with a mild look on his face. The humorous exchange over Ric-san's Henge steered his thoughts back to the moment the white wolf, large, even by Inuzuka standards, had come racing into the chamber. '_Mom is never going to believe what I saw._' He half-smiled and replied, "I stand by my observation... you should be grateful that he thought you weren't tasty." Kiba added silently, '_Or worthy._'

Ric commented mildly, "I was not chasing Anko-san... she just happened to be in my way." He zipped up his vest. "And, to answer your question, I, and my NCOIC, Jeri, will be popping in and out during the upcoming week, there's a lot of equipment to be moved over to Konoha."

Irina put on a pout. "What about me, darling? I want to see more of our new home."

Ric looked up and down Irina's 6 foot, 2 inch, curvaceous form. "Until you learn to do a proper Henge, I'd prefer you didn't show yourself to the locals, at least without a proper escort."

Irina gave Ric an innocent smile. "I promise to be a good girl." She stroked his cheek with a long finger.

"That's not the point, not that I don't believe you. The problem is that your appearance will generate talk, _and_ speculation... and that's something we _don't_ need, not just yet." Ric replied, then pulled the zipper on her jumpsuit, up to her neck to emphasize his point... hiding her heroic, bra-less cleavage.

Kiba nodded to himself. '_There's no way she could walk through Konoha and not be noticed._' He switched his gaze to Ric, pondering his mild, un-satisfyingly truthful explanation... "It was something I dreamed up." He considered the chance that a non-member of his Clan having such a dream... was slight, at best.

With a mischievous grin plastered across her face, Anko raised her hand . "I could show her around Konoha."

Kurenai rolled her eyes. "That would turn out well... it would take a week to clean up the results of that tour." Anko stuck her tongue out and made an obscene gesture in reply.

"We'll talk about it later... and work something out." Ric promised Irina with a cautious smile.

-x-

"So Shikamaru-kun, what do you think was the most significant thing you learned today?" Shiho asked with a smile.

Shikamaru shrugged. "That Daniel-san uses the words million, and billion, _a lot_." He added a sigh. "It's incredibly bothersome."

Daniel chuckled. "Wait 'til next time, then we go to trillions."

Shikamaru gave Daniel a brief, meaningful stare and shook his head. "I swore I'd never be like my father, but... I need a drink, and a smoke right now," He bowed politely to both his companions. "Until next time, Daniel-sensei. Later, Shiho-san." At that, he spun on his heel and walked away; after a few steps he added a wave and kept heading for the exit doorway.

Shiho giggled and returned the wave, then turned to Daniel... she poked her fingers together and quietly asked, "Are you sure you can't stay longer?"

Daniel smiled and shook his head. "I'd love nothing better." He glanced over at Ric and his group. "Part of me wishes that I could have snuck off and seen Konoha with Ric... it sounds like he had a lively day."

He gave Shiho an apologetic smile. "However, we're going to have a small get-together for Naruto and Hinata tonight." He grinned briefly. "Ric said he has a... storage scroll full of ramen and such. The look on Naruto's face should be priceless."

Shiho nodded agreeably, then took a deep breath. "I'd love to show you around Konoha, Daniel-san." She replied, and added with a blush, "Although you'd need some different clothes to walk about." She waved her hands. "Not that there's anything wrong with what you're wearing."

Daniel looked down at his rather typical outfit. "Normally, it's never been an issue..." He shrugged. "But then again, I've never wandered about a village full of ninjas."

She waved her hands again. "It's perfectly safe... most of the time, and then there's the ANBU to watch over you..." Shiho's voice trailed off.

"Daniel-sensei is welcome anytime." Tsunade commented; she had walked up unnoticed by either of them. She added with a smirk, "And I promise that the ANBU will be discreet enough to keep from spoiling your date."

"Thank you, Hokage-dono." Daniel smiled affably. "I appreciate the offer."

Shiho's blush deepened. "D..d..date?"

Daniel grinned. "Okay, that sounds like fun."

===4:40 PM, Gate Chamber, KSC===

Standing near the new control station, Sam turned to Sakura and smiled. "Give it a whirl, Sakura-san."

Glancing at the check-list, Sakura initiated the 'gate start-up sequence. Flanking her, were the two tech-nins, Ichiro and Himeko, sitting at their own computers... they shared a smile and started their respective monitoring programs. All of them grinned as they watched their computers execute their programs with, for them, staggering speed. All at the same time, the Konoha Stargate lit up, and the first chevron locked into place.

Tsunade turned to her guests. "It's been a very interesting day, and I want to thank you all again for your assistance,..." She bowed to Sam. "...your interesting lessons,..." She bowed to Daniel. "...and I look forward to our next meeting, Colonel Von Krieger."

She bowed to him, and glanced at Irina, who was focusing on the piece of paper rotating in the center of her palm. '_I need to go into the Hospital Archives and see what I can find on Akarumu... she is the Patron Sage of Med-nins, and supposedly the author of many of the jutsus that I, and others like me use._' Tsunade suppressed a grin as Irina wrinkled her face in concentration... until she noted the paper's rotation begin to pick up speed. '_It takes an Academy student at least a week to rotate a leaf at that speed._'

Tsunade looked about the 'gate chamber, Hakumei had yet to arrive. '_I hope she gets here in time, I really want to get a sense of what Akarumu did to her chakra system... Hinata's notes on that issue were incomplete. She mentioned that during her last examination, the woman's chakra system was still in a state of flux, which is extraordinary, just on that fact alone._'

She noted that the third chevron had locked in. '_Oh well, in a week we'll be going to Earth. I'll see the brat again..._' Tsunade smiled at the thought. '_...and Hakumei will be included in the group going with me; I guess I can wait another week._'

-x-

"So which of you is tasked to make sure Shiho-san doesn't wander through the Stargate with Daniel?" Ric asked with a sly smile.

Anko twirled a kunai in her hand and grinned. "I'll volunteer."

Kurenai shifted her gaze from Irina to Ric. She quietly remarked, "She's doing amazingly well, considering the amount of time she's practiced."

Then Kurenai leaned closer to Ric, stood on her tip-toes, and whispered, "I don't know that much about the 6 Sages, but I suspect your best source of information is probably the Fire Temple. I suggest you talk to Asuma Sarutobi... he's currently preparing for an S-Ranked mission, but he's on good terms with the Head Monk; his name is Chiriku. If you ask Asuma-san, he'll write you a letter of introduction; that should help you gain entry to the Temple."

Ric committed the info to memory and gave Kurenai a slight nod of thanks. "I owe you one." He looked up and saw the fifth chevron lock into place.

-x-

"So what did you think of our guests?" Kakashi asked Kiba.

Kiba absent-mindedly bounced Akamaru's gift off the floor and caught it... his companion was curled up and fast asleep inside his jacket, happily dreaming of a big blue ball. "If they're our new allies, then Konoha is in better shape than I imagined." He then recalled Daniel-san's lectures. "The down side is... I guess, is that our world just got a lot bigger, and way more scary." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

Kiba pocketed the ball and pulled out a beef-flavored rawhide chew stick, a second gift from Hinata that Ric-san had found at the bottom of his bag, and popped it into the corner of his mouth. '_Hmm... these aren't half bad._' He looked at the quartet waiting to go back. "What do you think of... him, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "He's an interesting one, and not at all what I expected."

Kiba cocked his head in thought. "Is he a shinobi?"

"After a fashion, I suspect so... but not like any around here." Kakashi replied.

"Did he really learn the Shunshin by just touching you?" Kiba asked.

"I believe he did, but then again, if even half of what I've read is true... we may be in for a lively time." Kakashi got up from his chair and added, "And no, I can't tell you anything. I suggest you ask your mother. I suspect she knows far more than I do."

He quietly snickered at Kiba's groan. "I imagine that she'll be very interested in what you saw, and heard today... if you play it right, like a proper shinobi, you'll learn as much as you reveal. Think of it as additional training."

Kakashi looked at the 'gate and saw the seventh chevron come into position. "Come on, Kiba-san, let's go say goodbye to our new friends."

-x-

Sam watched the Stargate open and smiled. "Okay Sakura, send the ID code to confirm it's Konoha's 'gate that connected with SGC." She glanced at the hand-held 'gate controller, and watched for the confirmation.

"ID code accepted, all systems are nominal." Sakura announced.

Several moments later, the shimmering puddle filling the Stargate beckoned. After an exchange of bows, the four from Earth walked through, all of them giving the Konoha nins a final wave good-bye.

After a long moment of silent reflection, Tsunade turned about and walked back to the gathered nins. "You're all dismissed, except for the second watch. We have to get ready for our own trip in a week... get some rest and prepare for that day."

===5:55 PM, Parking Lot C, Cheyenne Mountain Complex===

"I'm hungry." Naruto grumbled.

Jeri sighed. "Son, you're _always_ hungry. Look on the bright side, once we report into the Team Room, we can head on down to the Mess Hall."

Hinata nudged Naruto. "I don't see why you're so hungry, you ate your other ration meal, and mine, then you ate the liverwurst, and the beef sausage, and all the left-over bread from lunch... all on the drive back here."

"That was a snack." Naruto replied.

Jeri muttered, "If you were a woman, I'd swear y'all was eat'n for two."

Naruto shook his head as he heard the Kyuubi giggling wildly inside him.

===5:45 PM, SG1 Team Room===

Daniel responded to the thumping sound and opened the door, revealing Jack holding a whole pecan pie in each hand. "So where do I hide these?" Jack asked.

Sam looked about. "Maybe there's room in the filing cabinet."

"May I make a suggestion?" Ric held up a storage scroll. "This one is more empty than full; let's put the pies in here."

Daniel laughed and added, "I was just going to suggest that myself."

Jack put the pies on the table. "Is that one of those scrolls Hinata talked about?"

Ric smiled and opened the scroll. "This is a storage scroll; and, in my humble opinion, as important to us as any jutsu." He picked up, and sealed away each pie with a small puff of smoke.

Jack eyed the scroll closely. "What can you put in that thing?"

"As it was explained to me, just about anything." Ric tapped the scroll in front of him. "Each sealing array on this scroll has a capacity of about 6 cubic feet of... stuff, either a single object or the equivalent in multiple items... the weight involved is not a factor unless we're talking about something that weighs more than 750 pounds."

"Holy shit... that means you could squirrel away..." Jack touched the fuinjutsu array. "How many of those squiggle thingies are on the this scroll?"

Ric smiled mildly and replied, "It's called a fuinjutsu array, and this scroll has 20 of them. All combined, it'll hold up to 15,000 pounds, and its comparable to 120 cubic feet of storage space." He tapped the scroll. "And it'll all weigh no more than the scroll itself."

Teal'c leaned in for a closer look. "Indeed."

Sam frowned and shook her head. "That's a total violation of several concepts of physics and..." She fell silent for a moment, then asked, "So how does it work?"

"I was given the Sealing for Dummies short lecture, but as best as I can understand, each array creates an extra-dimensional pocket... or something like that." Ric replied. "And that's not the best of it... there are even bigger arrays, _and_ they're up-scaleable."

"How far up?" Sam asked.

"When I was chatting with Kakashi-san, he told me how they snuck off with their Stargate, and got it to Konoha." Ric said.

"That's right... we never learned how they moved a Stargate from it's original location." Sam replied.

Ric smiled and explained, "Tsunade-dono, with her own bare hands, ripped it out of the cliff-face it was attached to. Once that was done, Naruto's Sensei, Jiraiya the Toad Sage... who's supposed to be the grand master of this sorta juju, sealed up the Stargate, and carried it off like a candy bar." Ric spread his hands. "I gotta admit it... I was officially impressed."

"Holy Shit... a 'gate weighs almost 30 metric tons." Jack sat down heavily in his favorite chair and glanced at Teal'c. "I think we've finally found somebody who can trade punches with Teal'c, and win."

Teal'c muttered, "Indeed." He asked in a normal voice, "How did this person come by that level of extraordinary strength?"

Ric chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Apparently there's a jutsu for that... and just about everything _else_ you can think of on Naruto's world."

Daniel sighed. "It's a shame that we're too old to learn any of the significant ones."

Ric shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. While talking to Kakashi, I got the distinct impression that the key aspect to jutsu use was chakra control; and that, comes down to individual talent, which is a wild card in my opinion." He looked at everyone about him. "Control, chakra capacity, focus, elemental affinity, and dedication play a major role in jutsu use, or so I was told."

Sam let out a frustrated sigh. "There's the crux of it... taking the time to focus on, and practice with any jutsu long enough to be any good with it."

"I still haven't got a good feel for the flow of chakra... Hinata says I'm doing the basic jutsus right, but it still feels like I'm trying to build a model airplane with mittens on." Jack added.

Ric rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. "I suspect that any disadvantages arise more from the... newness to the sensation of your own chakra, and layered on top of that is the observation Hinata-dono made, many of you have high levels of chakra... from the get-go."

Ric leaned forward in his chair. "I asked Kakashi about that issue... his observation was that children training to be shinobi usually start with fairly low chakra reserves. That works to their benefit as they begin learning how to mold chakra. Those kids have an advantage since they can adapt their molding technique as their chakra levels increase."

Daniel commented. "That may be why Hinata keeps emphasizing the leaf exercises even though all of us, more or less, have successfully executed the 3 basic jutsus. She once told me that we're doing 5th year Academy tasks with a 1st year's level of understanding, and skill with chakra."

"I've found mediation to be most beneficial in that endeavor." Teal'c added.

"I don't doubt that." Ric agreed, then motioned with his hands. "However, I suspect it's still sorta like expecting a child to skillfully handle a 2 inch fire hose... most would fail badly, but there'd be also be a handful that could actually pull it off... after a fashion."

Daniel looked at Ric. "Do you think a more skilled teacher than Hinata would help?"

Ric frowned and replied, "Only in terms of someone more experienced in addressing the specific problems at hand. Hinata is quite skilled in the fundamentals. Hey, she did succeed in teaching everyone the basic jutsus, and you all know the Hand Seals... I'd regard that as a pretty good start. All things considered, the real test of her savvy as a Sensei will be teaching everyone the skill of tree-walking."

"Hey, if I could learn at least that much, I'd be totally cool with that." Jack leaned forward in his chair. "Anyway, back to the original subject... how many of those scrolls did you bring back? He added with an eager grin, "And can we buy some for ourselves?"

"I obtained 3 of the smaller ones, 4 of the bigger ones, and one of the _really_ big ones." Ric replied. "As to purchasing more, I would imagine so, except... they're not a high-demand item. As it was explained to me, they're labor intensive, require an expert to create them... which makes them sorta expensive, and... I bought over half their available stock of the larger capacity scrolls."

"You sneaky bastard." Jack declared with a playful smile.

Sam rolled her eyes at Jack and asked Ric, "How did you obtain that much local currency?"

"Do you remember that case that got sent to me?" Ric replied.

Jack snapped his fingers. "The gold coins I saw." He raised an eyebrow. "You used them?"

"Money makes the world go around... even on other planets." Ric grinned slyly.

Jack muttered, "I gotta talk to Hammond about a budget add-on for buying stuff in Konoha."

Daniel leaned down to examine the fuinjutsu array more closely. He glanced at Ric and asked, "You said that you have one of the bigger scrolls, capacity-wise... how big are we talking about?"

Ric rubbed his chin. "In theory, with the largest sealing array, I could store an object, or objects, weighing a total of 35 metric tons... and that scroll has 10 arrays."

Sam rubbed her face. "That's impossible... except it's not." She stood up and started to pace about, frowning in thought.

"Are we talking more impossible, or less impossible than a Stargate?" Ric quipped.

Sam gave Ric an annoyed look, muttered... "mud puppies" ...and continued pacing.

Daniel stood up with a smile. "Well... considering everything we've learned since we carried Naruto and Hinata back with us; and, when you consider what we've learned in many of our missions through the Stargate... I think the word impossible should be used sparingly, if at all."

Sam stopped pacing and sighed. "I suppose you're right, but even so, this is way weirder than usual."

Ric thought to himself, '_I wonder what she would say after she saw what my Obasama can do... let alone me?_'

"By the way, could any of us use one of these scrolls?" Jack asked.

"I don't see why not." Ric replied. "Being able to mold chakra is the only real requirement that I know of, and executing the correct Hand Seal." He added after a moment of thought, "And have enough chakra to activate the seal as well... that is a key factor."

Teal'c spoke up. "The possibilities, and the advantages, of such a... storage system, would be considerable."

Ric chuckled loudly. "No lie there... you can't begin to imagine all the times I wished that I had a Black Hawk in my back pocket." He waved his hand over the scroll. "Well now I could, and then some."

Irina, sitting quietly, and unnoticed, in a corner chair, followed the discussion as closely as possible. While she didn't have Sam's level of intellect or schooling, she was anything but stupid, or ignorant. For a brief moment, her training, and past conditioning, demanded she take this information back to Moscow.

Then she looked at Ric and realized what that deed would cost her. The dark days following his departure from Moscow came back to her. '_No, I can't lose him again... let them call me a traitor. Better his woman, than the dagger of corrupt, greedy, squabbling, heedless men... who love power and riches more than Mother Russia._'

Irina nodded to herself. '_My darling is a decent, honorable man, and he loves me. I will make him a great, and powerful man... and his woman above any others._' She smiled to herself as she recalled the various episodes of passion with women she deemed worthy enough to share her bed... and later with Ric as well. '_Yes, with the right women, and other allies, Darling will become strong, and important... especially on that other world. I understand that world better than Darling does... there they play the game of thrones... and I know that game._'

She recalled floating alone in the vast white void; then the joy and relief his welcoming smile gave her, when she finally found him. She also remembered the powerful voice that spoke to them, and the words she said. '_Darling and I are one, our destiny is one and the same, and I will help Darling discover it._' She smiled and felt at ease for the first time she had arrived at SGC.

Irina stood up and clapped her hands; everyone fell silent and looked at her as though she had appeared out of thin air, except Darling... the smile he gave her was beyond worth. "As interesting as this discussion is, I believe you have a surprise party to throw. Shouldn't you focus on that for the moment?"

Daniel chuckled and nodded in agreement. "She's right." He looked at Sam. "Maybe you should check the batteries in your camera, we've _got_ to get a picture of Naruto when we show him the ramen we brought back."

Jack laughed and reached for a phone. "I'll check and see if Jeri and the kids are back yet."

===6:20 PM, SG1 Team Room===

Naruto opened the door and announced. "We're back!" To his surprise, everybody was still in the Team Room... he had half-expected it to be empty, and everybody at the Mess Hall.

Jack glanced around the large, open magazine that was propped up on the table... concealing a Kage-sized bowl of Naruto Special ramen.

Within seconds of entering the room, Naruto's nose began to twitch... he knew that smell; his eyes flashed about the room. Behind him, Hinata entered the room while Jeri hung back, struggling to keep his face a blank mask. Naruto sniffed the air again... his eyes locked onto the magazine Jack was staring at, and half-hiding behind.

Daniel closed the book in his lap. "Did you have fun today, Naruto?" He smiled at the sharply focused stare Naruto was giving Jack's magazine, then looked at Hinata. "How was the helicopter ride, Hinata?"

Hinata quickly took in everything... the looks, and the body language of everyone there. While she wasn't a regular at Ichiraku's, she knew the smell of their ramen. She took a half-step back, let out a tiny grin, and kept her tone casual, "I'm not sure I care for flying through the air, yet, but I understand Sam-san better now."

Sam grinned at Hinata. "Don't worry, you'll learn to love it... or at least get use to it."

Ric turned in his chair and looked at Jeri. "I see you came back in one piece; I trust they learned something useful."

"We _all_ learned something today, sir. I'll talk about that later; and, I'm pleased to report that Sergeant Spears thinks Hinata-chan has all the makings of a first-rate demo man." Jeri replied.

Meanwhile, Naruto was slowly advancing... and following his nose straight onto the table. Jack gave up trying to suppress a grin and lifted the magazine, revealing the bowl of ramen behind it. Crouched on all fours on the table-top, Naruto stared at the large bowl, marked with the Ichiraku logo, and slowly reached out to touch it... half suspecting that it was a elaborate prank by Jack.

His finger touched the bowl. "It's real." Naruto whispered. He gazed lovingly at the fragrant steam rising from the bowl and took a deep breath through his nose.

Sam, sitting next to Jack, held up a pair of chopsticks... Naruto grabbed them in a flash. Less than a minute later, the bowl was empty.

"_Damn..._ did you taste _any_ of that, Naruto?" Jack asked.

With tears of joy streaming from his eyes, Naruto replied, "Every damn drop."

Hinata looked about at everyone. "You went to Konoha today... didn't you."

"Some of us did." Daniel replied.

Sam smiled apologetically. "We're really sorry we couldn't tell you about it, but we had to make sure that the 'gate address worked before saying anything about it. There have been... mishaps in the past." 

Ric stood up, his hands behind his back. "Even though the training today was meant to distract you, I sincerely hope you had a fun outing, and learned something useful." He moved closer to the table. "And we didn't forget about you, Hinata-dono." Ric revealed the scroll he was holding and opened it on the table; he touched a seal, and a pulse of his chakra released the contents.

Hinata smelt, and snatched up the still-warm, wrapped bundle that appeared. She pressed her face into the bundle of her favorite buns from Matsumachi's, and kept it there. Not wanting anyone to see the look on her face, her muffled voice came forth. "Thank you, Ric-dono."

"You're welcome, and don't worry, there's 2 more seals worth when you finish with those." Ric replied, then took a breath and added, "I'll make sure you get a steady supply in the future."

Hinata looked up. "Yes please." Then she considered the possibilities of Ric's statement. "You're going there... and not staying here, with us, are you?"

"Yes, we are, but that doesn't mean we're going away. We'll _always_ be a walk through the 'gate away from you, and Naruto." Ric unsealed another bowl of ramen and handed it to Naruto. "Never think that I, or Jeri, will ever forget about you... or not make time to visit you." Ric smiled warmly. "Besides, how else will Naruto get his ramen fix, or make sure you get a steady supply of buns."

Naruto looked up from his now empty bowl at Jeri. "You're still going to be my Sensei... right?"

Jeri read the tone in his voice and grinned reassuringly. "For as long as you want me to, Naruto. I made a promise to help you, and a man always keeps his word, no matter what."

Naruto looked into Jeri's eyes and knew his words were true; the all-to-familiar sense of abandonment that had gripped him faded away. He returned Jeri's grin. "Thank you, Jeri-sensei."

Ric unsealed another bowl and set it on the table. "Naruto-kun, as I get further involved in the affairs of Konoha, I'll need your experience, and knowledge to help me... and that'll include you as well, Hinata-dono. You're a bright young lady, and without asking for personal info, I'll need to know more about your Clan."

Hinata smiled and nodded her agreement. "I'll help you, as you've helped me."

Ric unsealed bundles of pork and beef buns, and set them on table. "And to be perfectly honest, we'll be constantly coming back and forth until everything is set up, and running properly in Konoha." He added with a smile, "We'll make time, whenever possible, to drop by and say hello. Besides, I did promise you a return visit to the lodge."

Ric's smile faded. "To be honest, it's going to be hard sledding in Konoha, even with the help from the Hokage, and everyone else. By the way, both your Sensei's, and Tsunade-dono, said hello, and they're looking forward to seeing you soon."

He glanced at Jack. "Sorry if I'm letting any cats out of the bag, but they need to know."

Jack waved his hand dismissively. "Don't sweat it, Ric... I won't rat you out to the General." He eyed the beef buns, grabbed one and sniffed it. "Not bad." Jack took a bite. "Hey, these are pretty good."

Both Naruto and Hinata exchanged looks of surprise. Naruto asked, "Baa-chan is coming here?"

Sam grabbed a pork bun. "They'll be coming a week from now. We need to get ready for them too."

Teal'c picked up one of the buns, sniffed it... and made it disappear in 2 bites. Ric muttered to himself, "It's a good thing I brought more." He unsealed two more bowls of ramen and handed one to Naruto, and the other to Jeri. Ric saw the look on Naruto's face and gently bopped him on the head. "Don't be greedy... besides there's a few more bowls of ramen set aside for you."

Naruto grinned, "How many?"

Ric narrowed his eyes and replied, "It's a military secret... and linked to good behavior on your part." He pointed to a chair. "Starting with getting off the table, and having a seat while you eat."

Naruto sighed. "Hai." He hopped off the table, sat down, and returned to the task of devouring his ramen.

Ric unsealed another bowl for insurance and approached a sitting Hinata, a blissful look on her face as she munched on a cinnamon bun. He knelt beside her. "While I was in Konoha, I met someone named Hakumei-san."

A fond smile came to Hinata's face. "You did? How is she?"

Ric lowered his voice. "She looked just fine. She misses you very much, but she's glad that you're happy, and well. I also think she'll be one of the people coming from Konoha, and I met Kiba-san as well. I gave him your presents, and met his little friend. And, Kurenai-san is looking forward to listening to your audio letter... I think she misses you _very_ much."

"As do I... is she coming too?" Hinata asked. Ric nodded. "That's wonderful news." She glanced at Naruto and asked, "Do you know who else is coming?"

"No, not everybody, but I believe Kakashi-san is." Ric replied. "He's also looking forward to seeing Naruto again. I think he has a number of things that he wants to say to his old student."

Ric lowered his voice further still. "I also met a little Hyuuga while wandering about Konoha."

Hinata instantly knew who he was referring to... and kept a tight grip on her emotions. "Is Hanabi alright? Is she well?"

"She looked okay to me. I believe Hakumei-san is watching over her, and she's going to go to the Academy... she was shopping for school items when I met her." Ric replied.

The tension, and all her old fears, slipped away. '_Thank you, Kami._' She lightly touched Ric's shoulder. "Can you keep an eye on her... I mean, tell me more about her when you see her again?"

"I'll do what I can, when I can... I'll promise at least that much." Ric replied.

Hinata bowed her head. "Thank you, Ric-dono."

From behind them, Naruto called out, "I'm out of ramen, Ric-san... and Jeri-sensei's being mean to me." Then they heard Jeri growl, "Move an inch towards that scroll and it's curtain's for you, boy." Hinata smothered a laugh behind her hands.

Ric shook his head and stood up. "Pardon me while I feed the beast."

Hinata giggled behind a fist then took another bite of her bun.

===5:20 PM, Inuzuka Household===

Minding a simmering pot on the stove, Hana stole a glance at her mother... who was well into a large bottle of sake. Turning her attention back to the stew, Hana looked out the window and frowned. '_I can only think of 2 reasons why mother would be drinking before dinner, and none of them are good._'

She'd already asked Tsume if she knew when Kiba was coming home, and her reaction to the question. Hana knew better than to ask a second time. '_I hope he comes home soon, maybe that'll calm mother down._' She tried a different approach; Hana looked over shoulder and asked, "Would you like to taste the stew, mother? I haven't cooked venison in ages and I want it come out perfectly."

She watched Tsume down the remainder of her glass and reply, "No thanks... you'll do just fine."

Hana stared into the pot. '_Mother adores venison... if it weren't for the generosity of Yoshino-san, we wouldn't have this._' Due to Nara's sacred deer preserve, none of the butchers in Konoha would sell deer meat lest they offend the Nara Clan, or at the least, prove where they had obtained it... which usually wasn't a problem.

Even so, no Inuzuka turned away the chance to get some, it was considered a delicacy by the Clan. It was one of the reasons why any Inuzuka jumped at the chance for a long-distance mission away from Konoha... the opportunity to hunt a deer well away from the Nara's sacred herd.

Hana switched her gaze back to the kitchen window. Kiba had appeared, coming around from the front of the house... and obviously following his nose. She smiled and went back to minding the venison stew. '_Finally... maybe now things will settle down._'

In retrospect, Hana couldn't have been more wrong.

===5:35 PM, Iron Kimono, Konoha Business District===

"Hello stranger." Hotaru set aside her ledger and gave Sakura a genuine smile of fondness. "You've been away so long... I was beginning to think you'd forgotten the location of my humble shop."

Sakura replied with an apologetic nod of the head and a shy smile. "Sorry, I've been busy,..." She shut the door and let out a sigh. "...but I think I'm finally getting the better of my work."

"That's good to hear. So, are you here to chat, try on something new, or..." Hotaru waved her hand at a back doorway shielded by a simple, red silk curtain. "...to get something naughty?"

As Sakura gazed at the curtain and bit her lower lip. "I..."

Suddenly Ino's head popped out, parting the curtains. "Did somebody say naughty?" She grinned at Sakura. "What are you doing here, Forehead? Aren't you supposed to be saving Konoha from certain doom?"

Sakura giggled and pointed at Ino's face. "I'm doing a better job of that, than you are at dodging punches." She closed the distance between them and lightly poked at the bruise on Ino's left cheek. "Didn't you notice this, and heal it when you came in?" She flicked a glance at the full-length mirror at the other side of the shop.

Ino pouted. "I've been avoiding mirrors lately... it's far too depressing when I look."

Sakura stepped back in mock alarm and motioned to Hotaru. "Quick Hotaru-san, help me grab her... this is obviously an Iwa nin in disguise." Hotaru chuckled and shook her head.

Ino made a sour face. "Shut up, Forehead. You try training with my Sensei for a day and see what happens."

Sakura took another step back and replied with a malicious grin. "Deal! You can train with Tsunade-sama in my place."

"On second thought... I withdraw my offer." Ino stepped through the curtains.

Sakura's eyebrows went up. "Kami... you're a sight!" She took in Ino's muddy, bruised appearance. "You go home looking like that?"

Ino sighed and shrugged. "Father's orders... he said it's the surest way to tell if I'm making progress with Kouseki-sensei. The day I come home looking half-way normal... then he'll lift _most_ of the penalties he's levied on me."

Sakura never did learn, nor ask, what Ino had done to earn such harsh treatment... not that she wanted to. Some things in shinobi circles were best left unsaid, and unasked. "I see. Well... I've seen you worse off, though I can't recall when." She cocked her head and smiled. "At least you still have the strength to smile,..." Sakura glanced at the red-curtained door-way. "...among other things." To her surprise, a light blush came to Ino's face.

"Hello..." She poked Ino's nose. "...what's this?"

"None of your business, Forehead." Ino replied tersely.

"You should seen her when she walked in, it took her a whole 5 minutes to shut up about..." Hotaru made a girlish pose, and a 'I'm in love' look on her face. "...a certain..."

Ino interrupted Hotaru with a hissing growl. "Traitor."

Sakura giggled and stepped out of Ino's easy reach; she grinned slyly at Ino. "So who is it this week?"

Hotaru helpfully supplied the answer, "Some man she saw today, and by the description... no shinobi I've ever seen... which makes him a stranger to Konoha."

Sakura's face turned thoughtful. "Ahh... I see." She shared a look with Ino; while both of them knew of the secret hidden within the Hokage Monument, Ino hadn't shown up for the test. She avoided Hotaru's amused, and curious stare.

She visualized a certain towering, well-curved, blonde woman next to Ino, and shook her head. Sakura gave Ino a guarded look, and gave a carefully-worded reply, "If that's the case, I wouldn't get your hopes up too much... too many unknowns."

To Sakura's surprise, Ino gave her a determined, unflinching look. "Never say never, Forehead. I know now that there's no quick and easy path... no cheat, or shortcut to _anything_ worth having." She gave Sakura a resolute stare. "That Ino is long gone... believe it."

Hotaru discreetly smiled. '_It looks like Kou-chan hasn't lost her touch._' She looked at Ino and nodded to herself. '_Perhaps I've found the right candidate to test..._' Hotaru's smile grew wider. '_Yes, a new, better Ino needs a new look... and I have just what she's probably going to need._'

Hotaru coughed into a fist to gain Sakura and Ino's attention. "It's closing time, ladies." She made a shooing motion with her hand. "Sakura-chan, take your scruffy friend out of here and give a her proper cleaning up; it sounds like she has a serious challenge before her."

Sakura considered Hotaru's cunning, and very accurate assessment, given that she truly knew nothing specific about Ino's potential rival... at least not yet. She put on a smile and asked, "Does your punishment include being grounded?" Ino shook her head. Sakura grinned. "Good, then its off to dinner at my house, after you've had a proper bath... with the best bubbles money can buy."

===6:05 PM, Hyuuga Main Branch Household===

"I thank you for your gracious invitation, Hiashi-sama." Hakumei bowed low, then shifted her sitting position to face the low, small table before her.

Hiashi returned the bow and clapped his hands twice; a door slid open, and a line of Cadet Branch women filed in, each carrying in a large covered tray. With grace, precision, and silence, the trays were presented to Hiashi, Hanabi, Hakumei, and 3 of the Clan Elders.

After that, the Cadet servants lined up against the long wall of the room and knelt down, awaiting further orders. Hiashi looked about the large formal dining room, then focused on Hanabi. "I trust you've properly thanked Hakumei-san for... rescuing you today." He briefly wore a slight smile, then picked up his chop sticks, signaling that it was permissible for everyone to begin eating.

"Yes father." Hanabi replied, then placed her folded hands in her lap.

Hizamo halted eating. "Is the food not to your liking, Hana-chan?" He knew that the prepared dishes favored Hanabi's usual tastes... he sensed that something weighed on his grand daughter's mind.

"No, Ojiisama, the meal is quite satisfactory." Hanabi nodded at her tray. "It troubles me that I find myself in disagreement with Otousama's comment."

Hiashi briefly raised an eyebrow, which for a Hyuuga, was as close to expressing surprise as they usually got. Even so, he kept his tone mild as he asked, "How so, Hanabi."

"While I am solely at fault for my actions, which caused today's incident, Hakumei-san's timely arrival was aided by the actions of another." Hanabi left it at that. Hakumei-san had firmly advised her to limit her comments, and observations concerning Riku-san.

All of the Elders nodded in approval at Hanabi's public admission of responsibility, such maturity was expected of the Clan's new heir.

One of the 3 Elders invited to dine, Haruki, spoke up. "I had not heard of this." He glanced at Hiashi; like the other Elders, he had been informed of the punishment levied against the 3 Main Branch members involved in the incident, and little else. Hizamo, Hiashi's father, who was more in the know than the other Elders, remained silent.

"The other person was a foreign shinobi, a common visitor to Konoha." Hiashi replied with polite terseness. He was well aware who had come to Hanabi's aid... and it was causing him no small amount of inner turmoil, and soul-searching. The other factor weighing on him was the secrecy surrounding Konoha's newest ally. Tsunade had made it abundantly clear that the alliance, let alone the finer details, was an S-Ranked secret.

Even though it was understood that certain details would become common knowledge, all of that would be carefully stage-managed by the Hokage. Hiashi had no desire to find out if Tsunade would follow-through with the promise of clan-wide punishments, for failure to guard the central secrets of the alliance. His chief comfort was the Clan's representative, selected by his own hand, Hakumei. He regarded her loyalty to the Clan as beyond question, and she was amply skilled... she was the least of his worries.

Haruki allowed himself a small, amused smile and observed, "Not so common that he was willing to confront 3 of our clan with his bare hands."

"That may be so, but he quickly backed down, and chose to leave... which denotes common sense." Hiashi quickly remarked, which drew nods of agreement. He added with a slight smile, "And perhaps a remark on his respect for the power of the Byakuugan, and the Juuken." All the Elders nodded in agreement at that opinion.

Mindful of the admonitions from her father, and Hakumei's gentle, but firm advice, Hanabi held her tongue, but not her thoughts. '_You're wrong father, Riku-san apologized for walking away from me. I saw the anger and disapproval on his face... and the fierceness in his eyes._'

-x-

Equally silent, Hakumei considered Hiashi's words, and noted the presence of these particular Elders. As the Clan Lord's father, Hizamo's attendance was hardly a surprise. However, the other 2 Elders, and Hizamo, were known to be neutral, as far as the power games that went on between Hachiuma, and the Grand Elder, Hanako. She tried to not read too much into it, but given Hachiuma's recent loss of influence over the Clan Lord... it was still worth noting.

As to the confrontation between the 3 clansmen and Von Krieger, she had entered the scene at the tail end of it, and saw little of note. As to any other details, her use of the Byakuugan to detect the confrontation had been brief, and to the point.

As substantial as Hakumei's skill with the Doujutsu was, her glimpse of his chakra system only left her with one solid impression, the level of his chakra reserve was sizable... her best guess was that he was at least the equal of any of the better Jonins in Konoha. She promised herself that she would get a closer look at him in the future.

The other matter that weighed on her mind... her impressions of Von Krieger; plain-spoken but polite, and alternating without warning between mischievousness, and earnestness. One of his other aspects, his seamless blending of honesty, and guile... hardly a common accomplishment amongst shinobi. She had yet to decide if Von Krieger was an artful master of deceit... or, was he what he seemed to be... a paradoxical man from another planet.

As Hakumei smiled and reacted to the small talk between the diners, she set aside the largest gap in the riddle set before her, his link to a supposedly extinct clan of shadow-users. During the brief time Ric-san had been in Konoha, he had done nothing to substantiate what she heard in the meetings that the Hokage had hosted. And, as she understood it, Hiashi-sama had added nothing to the information that had been presented by the other Clans.

The one route to learning more was shut to her... only Hiashi, and the Elders, were permitted access to the Clan Vault. She had a potential path to exploit, but that would be her last resort. One did not lightly approach the Grand Elder of the Clan, Hanako, even if you were working on her behalf.

-x-

While sampling her dinner, Hanabi recalled the scene at Amaguriama. All the long hours of training under the stern eye of her father helped focus her thoughts. '_His stance and positioning, I've never seen it's like, but..._' She briefly froze at a realization. '_...he was fully prepared to confront the Gentle Fist... which is impossible unless he knows..._' Once again, her father's training served her well. Hanabi willed herself to continue eating, maintaining a quiet and demure persona, while a secret hope cautiously advanced itself.

Despite the discretion, and caution of Kakashi, Hakumei, and to a lesser extent, Riku, they had discounted the possibility that her ears were as sharp as anyone in Konoha, save the Inuzuka's. She had heard some of the comments between the adults, but had set them aside. Now they were becoming pieces of a grand puzzle, and she was undaunted by such things.

Another facet of her was the hellish training that Elder Hachiuma had inflicted on her, which had suddenly, and unexplainably ended by her father's order... not that she minded. Try as he might, the Elder had never broken her spirit, nor gained the unthinking obedience he had sought. That episode of her life had forged, and hardened her, to a degree that none realized, even her own father. Layered atop the former, was the firm, disciplined hand of her father. All of that combined to create a Hanabi that she revealed to no one, not even Hakumei, who she trusted, and had great affection for.

Hanabi briefly let out a tiny smile as she recalled Riku-san's promise to return. '_The more I learn about him, and the Taijutsu he knows..._' She stole a glance at Hakumei. '_...and things she hinted about in her whispers to him, then I may learn if my hopes are founded, or unfounded._'

===9:50 PM, Hokage's Residence===

Tsunade set the photo album aside and looked at the device Kurenai had given her, along with a tape with her name, written in Naruto's steadily improving handwriting. '_No, it took me 15 minutes to stop crying after I heard it the second time._' She took a deep breath and calmed herself. '_It's only a week... and there's so much to do._'

Then she looked at the ANBU report, laying on the low table before her. '_What in the 9 Hells are you up to, Danzo. Why did you choose now, of all times, to send your agents out in broad daylight?_' She reached for the bottle of sake beside the report and refilled her cup. '_Just 2 more weeks... perhaps 3, then we'll have a solid cover story and Danzo, and the Council, will see our new allies with their own eyes._' Tsunade took a drink and set the cup down.

She reached down and pushed the ANBU report aside, exposing another, thicker report underneath; she smiled to herself and picked it up. '_At least we managed to ham-string Iwa and Kumo... Kiri was a bonus._' She tapped the report against her knee. '_Ino's gossip files were a gift from Kami... if Kouseki says the right things in her final report on Ino's training, especially concerning her Med-nin training, I swear she'll get a Chuunin vest for her troubles._'

Tsunade looked up as she heard a coded knock at her front door. "What the hell." She leapt to her feet, raced to the door, and opened it... revealing an ashen-faced Jiraiya, leaning against the door jamb.

Jiraiya raised his right hand and waved. "I couldn't bear to stay away... did I miss all the fun?"

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End Chapter 13

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Author's Note 2:

Editor/Co-author's Notes: Well folks, the first of the new OCs are rolling out... bear with me, as the story rolls along, you'll see their place in the story. BTW, there's a big deluxe cookie for the reviewer that correctly ID's the source of two of the new OCs in chapter. Yes, I shamelessly stole them from another source (but not from another fanfic).

And, for the google-search impaired readers, there'll be a glossary below my replies to some of our loveable readers. BTW, I might be wrong, but I'm sensing that more military readers are posting reviews, thanks for your service, and past this fic along to your buds. Now on to the replies...

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NPCrusader - quality _counts_... thanks for noticing. If you liked the last chapter, your gonna love the newest one. And yeah, I regard doing a _proper_ x-over fanfic as the hardest fic to do _really_ well.

stalin 44 - still working on the gun thing, me... I'd give him something that goes BANG... but the question is what.

Mullyda - sorry, the primary author's WP program is Jarte, which doesn't have the option of using Japanese characters with the basic version (it takes a 'language pack', which is deluxe-only). As to SGC's HV name... isn't Konoha called the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves? Nuff said. And, due to the quirks of FFN, remember to such, instead of the actual characters..**.**

TheBeardedOne - hopefully you'll find some new favs in this chapter.

UFO ROBO - as to the Shadow Clan going to Earth, I've got a canon-valid explanation for how it could be done (truly I do... honest). Within the next couple of chapters, It'll all become clearer, I promise. And... for this AU, it's the **6** Sages. The canon, single Sage story, is **not** in effect. I've bugged the primary author to spell this all out... there seems to be a number of readers that still think the canon 'origin story' is used in this AU... hint, it _ain't._

skipper 1337 - as to your question on Ino, you don't necessarily need a _live_ partner to be 'sexually active' (chakra batteries not included)... get my drift? Tenten, more on her later, I like her character, and have plans for her. As to any pervy-ness, I'm inclined to doing lemon omakes (linked to specific chapters) on a different site... Mike has too many 'haters' who'd love nothing more than to boot a fic with his name on it, _off_ of FFN, so lemons for NinjaGate have to be crafted very carefully (I can do 'implied' teasers easy enough.).

john - I'm working on the weapons thing... good luck on your deployment, keep your head (and butt) down. Hopefully this new chapter is posted in time. GO ARMY!

HiroJiyuNaka - First off... thanks, it gets even better. See the glossary for further details, and sorry, some things are second nature for me. I won't dumb it down, but I will try to smooth the path a little more.

Dany le fou - As to the Shadow Clan, they're part of the 'deep plot', and the history of this AU, and I'd reserve any opinions on their presence in the story... there are a number of key details that have yet to be revealed. As to them being 'overpowered'... there **is** a 'balance', you're just not seeing it yet. And yeah, many clans joined forces to _exterminate_ the Shadow Clan... once you see where their stronghold was, you'll understand why.

And as to Ric reaching Itachi's level... you mistake capacity with ability. That being said, the combat-side of Ric has yet to appear, what you're seeing is the friendly, cultured, _and_ peaceful side of him. Ric (like Irina) will be _more at home_ in Konoha than you might imagine... lord knows I've dropped enough hints to the readers. It's not my fault if readers choose to discount, or ignore them.

And yes, in her own way, Mae _**is**_ that powerful... but you don't have all the details. Having great power, and how you use it, are two different critters.

Remember _everything_ has an up-side, a down-side, _and_ a weakness... I'm not one of those writers who pretends otherwise. And yes, sometime in the future, there will be a 'road trip' to Japan.

As to Irina, again, wait and see. Overconfident? ...remember, 'ignorance is bliss'. As to being 'out of her element' in Konoha... huh? She a trained, _ruthless_ assassin (formerly) working the successors of the KGB, and a Russian (Don't let her looks, or playfulness, fool you... she _ain't_ Wendy Whitebread, dude.). While I haven't detailed (precisely) in the story, Irina did train for 14 years to be a ballerina... her strength, grace, and ability to concentrate is _way_ up there.

My POV: she understands Naruto's world _all too well_. Otherwise, we agree to disagree. And don't forget (for the future story line), she's been 'tinkered with' by one of the Great Sages... she has a place in Naruto's world. Besides, Mike's cool with it, and that's all I'm worried about.

As to Kakashi going to Earth... you're over-thinking it. On the subject (in general) about Doujutsu's... I've got some ideas about that, and there _are_ canon Doujutsu's out there that rival the Sharingan... do some digging in a decent Wiki and you'll see what I mean... this **is** an AU ya know. (Hint: what's just east of Wave?)

Malix2 - no problem, we're all cool, so it's all good. Just hang with the story; there are lots of details that will come along and explain things. This is a deep, and complex story, just be patient.

WRose - If you liked Gaara in chapter 12, wait until #14... no further hints. As to the AU's placement, we're talking pre-Shippuuden. In certain ways, Naruto's (and Hinata's) real development is coming early. I suspect that's the hardest part of the AU for the readers to keep in mind (but then again, that's the problem with _any_ AU).

I do my best to help get the story out, but life _happens_... like I have to tell anybody that.

bh18 - while I _am_ a fan of Firefly, any similarities are _entirely coincidental_... honest injun.

Chargone - for this chapter, I've upped the MRE game, sorta.

Deathmvp - yes, Ino is changing (along with other characters), as you can see in this chapter.

As to guns and ninjas... it's like anything else, some people pay more attention than others. And, understand the inability of folks on Naruto's world to truly understand unfamiliar technology... this is where writers have to make their own 'call' on that sorta thing. The foreword I wrote should help, it _is_ a tricky subject to handle in a x-over.

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Glossary of terms and such...

LZ - Landing Zone

SAW - Squad Automatic Weapon

SFC - Sergeant First Class (E-7)

TS-Q - Top Secret-Compartmentalized (obsolete term)

A-stan - Afghanistan (hey, Ted didn't say ass-stain, the other name for that piss-hole)

RPG - Rocket Propelled Grenade

JSOC - Joint Special Operations Command

FN - Foreign Nationals

OD - Olive Drab

FM - Field Manual (the US Army's 'how to' book on any given subject)

Deuce and a half - the nickname for a 2.5 ton (cargo capacity) tactical truck

Trash-80 (circa 1980) - Tandy TRS-80 (circa 1980... the Stone Age of personal computers)

NCO / NCO(IC) - Non-commissioned officer (in charge)


	14. Ripples: Part 1

Ninjagate

Ripples: Part I

By: MikeJV37/Obakeinu.9-11

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Author's Note:Happy New Year everyone! Only about a month and a half from the last update, and if I'm right, the next update of this fic will be even faster (explained at the end) Some of the good stuff is starting, that I hope you enjoy, along with some reviewer comments.

On an unrelated point, there's a new poll on my profile about my other fics, please check it and vote.

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Editor/Co-author's forward: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers. Just so you know, there are several AU points in this chapter that Mike and I have agreed upon. The biggest one yet to come is this AU's fanon on Bloodline Limits (BlL's).

Once again, I strongly encourage all the new readers out there to leave a review, and give us your thoughts on NinjaGate; it's always good to hear from you. BTW... the Favs (428) out-number the Follows (425), what's up with that?

And a personal thank you to bub23453 (me mate down under...), thanks for info on Russian.

Also, a special shout-out to all those brave souls currently outside the wire... you are not forgotten, not by me. Stay safe and keep your butts down.

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===April 16, 9:51 PM, Hokage's Residence===

Jiraiya raised his right hand and waved. "I couldn't bear to stay away... did I miss all the fun?"

Tsunade gave him a quick head-to-toe visual scan, sighed in exasperation and motioned Jiraiya to come inside. "You look like shit... sit down before you fall down." Tsunade pointed at a long couch as she crossed the room and touched a door pillar, activating one of several security seals the house had. This particular seal did two things: alert the ANBU watching her quarters that she didn't want to be disturbed, and secured the exterior doors and windows against eavesdropping.

Jiraiya eyed the bottle of top-shelf sake. "Do you have another cup?"

She frowned at the Toad Sage and replied, "I think you need food more than drink." Tsunade nodded at the bottle on the low table. "Use my cup while I fix you something to eat."

"Dinner from the gentle hands of the mighty Slug Princess... I'm honored, and I humbly accept your offer." He poured himself a drink and bowed his head in thanks.

Tsunade snorted in amusement. "Don't get too excited, baka... it's just leftovers." She watched him closely as he took a drink. "So what was so important that you had to run yourself to the edge... again." She pointed at the random twitching in his hands. "Your muscles are obviously stressed from prolonged chakra saturation,..." A stern frown set her eyebrows. "...and here I thought that Hiruzen-sensei had drilled the results of a stunt like that into your thick head years ago."

Jiraiya downed his second cup and smiled weakly. "Give it a rest, Hime... I had a damn good reason for rushing back here." He tapped his forehead protector. "I have _the_ final report from my contact in Akatsuki."

Tsunade froze in surprise; she knew about his contact, but had never asked for the identity of the agent. "What happened... why?" She watched him set his trademark hitai-ite, horns-down on the table, and unseal a thin stack of papers. "Is your contact..."

Jiraiya smiled grimly. "No... He's not dead." He picked up the papers, her cup, the bottle of sake, and slowly stood up. "I suggest we retire to the kitchen. I need to eat, you need to hear what I've learned, and we're _both_ going to need a drink before I'm done."

===9:55 PM, Danzo's Secret Lair===

Danzo knelt in the center of his private chamber, staring at the flickering candle before him, pondering the day's events... until he noted the presence of Fuu outside a solid, connecting door. "Enter, and give me your report."

The hinges let out a distinctive squeak as the door initially opened, then moved as silently, and smoothly, as Fuu's entrance into the sparsely appointed room. Fuu knelt, bowed his head and replied, "I regret to inform you that all my inquires have learned nothing further than Sayuri's report. Everyone connected with that particular store have disappeared... and I've found no mention of them leaving by any of the village's gates."

The corners of Danzo's mouth twitched. '_Well played, Tsunade... you managed to shut the door in my face... this time._' He stared further into the candle flame for a bit before replying, "Inform Sayuri that she has a new task. She is to remain above ground, and watch the streets of Konoha for the stranger she saw. If she sees him again, I want her to observe him at close range, and note _anything_ of significance... then write a coded report to me."

Danzo scratched his chin thoughtfully and added, "Tell Sayuri to use cover story number 6, and stay at... the Red Apartment, until further notice. An appropriate weekly stipend will be delivered at Dead Drop 27, and any reports, after she makes contact, will go to Dead Drop 13."

Fuu lifted his head slightly. "Who will be assigned to watch her, Danzo-sama?"

"For the moment, no one. I've learned that the ROOT agents lost today arrived at ANBU HQ without their cloaks... I'll regard that as a warning that a stratagem against us is probably being formulated." Danzo nodded to himself. "Until I say otherwise, all covert ROOT operations will cease within Konoha, and half of all the teams will displace to Base C... do it tonight Fuu. If nothing else, I'll deny the Hokage any opportunity to net all my hard work so easily."

He noted a questioning look flash over Fuu's face. "Yes, I realize that they've hunted in vain for this base, but the Hokage's recent stroke against 3 different Village networks warns me that my previous equations are no longer valid... _something_ has changed the balance... something that I am unaware of." Danzo's eyes narrowed. "While I'm not displeased that Konoha's hand has strengthened as of late... the loss of the Jinchuuriki aside, it is not my intention to fall, or be diminished by that strength."

Danzo stood and allowed himself a smile. "I intend to make that strength, and whatever Tsunade has been up to, mine. I will not falter after all that I have done, and plan to do... the game is far from over." He pointed at Fuu. "See to all the arrangements at once." Danzo added silently, '_I'll venture my second-most valuable piece to advance my hand... I deem it worth the risk._'

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Fuu bowed and left Danzo to his thoughts.

===10:25 PM, Kitchen, Hokage's Residence===

With the sound of her downstairs shower running in the background, Tsunade read the succinct report a second time... the same range of emotions, mirroring Jiraiya's reaction when he had first read it, now raced through her. Thus far, dread was leading the pack. '_Madara is still alive..._" She knocked back her cup of sake and gripped it tightly. '_...and behind all the attempts to capture Naruto, in order to obtain the Nine-Tails._' She whispered softly, "Kami help us."

Tsunade released her grip on the cup as her stomach churned. That singular piece of news alone had set her mind racing. Upon accepting the Hokage's Hat, she'd read all the Third's summaries covering the period she had been absent from Konoha. Of all of them, the accounts of the Uchiha Massacre, and the Kyuubi attack had been the hardest to read. The latter... the sheer scope of that event... Biwako, Kushina, Minato, and Taji... the staggering losses by many of the Clans, and a fair portion of Konoha in ruins.

Even though the Third had written the report in neutral, concise language, she could still sense the sadness in the strokes of his pen. Equally bad was the sum of all that being heaped onto a new-born child... Naruto. Tsunade took a deep breath and let it out slowly, she had long since mastered the anger at herself, and select others. And, the near-crushing guilt directed at herself for being absent... for her godson Naruto, and her Sensei, the Third Hokage.

Her mind turned to the other dark event for Konoha. The massacre of the Uchiha's, now cast in an entirely new light by the news that Madara Uchiha was... improbable as it seemed to be, very much alive, though now gripped by madness over the loss of the Kyuubi.

That single bit of intelligence altered the accepted, until now, unshakable suspicion that the Uchiha Clan had been behind the Kyuubi's rampage against Konoha. One of the indisputable facts of that event... that a solitary figure, with the Sharingan, had authored all the blood, death, and destruction of that singular night. That fact alone became the pivot-point that slowly diminished the Uchiha Clan's standing in Konoha.

All the influence they had earned by allying themselves, at no less than Madara's insistence, with Hashirama Senju, her grandfather, and the founder of the first of the great Hidden Villages, Konoha... faded with each passing year.

'_The declaration of loyalty by the Uchiha's, and their protestation of innocence, was all true... only one Uchiha had displayed the power needed to enslave the Kyuubi... and everyone thought him dead after that epic battle with grandfather. The contest of might between them that caused the Valley of the End to be._' Tsunade covered her face with her hands as she rested her elbows on the table. Her heart sank as she admitted to herself the harsh truth... Naruto could not openly come back to Konoha until a plan, and enough power to back it up, could be worked out to defeat Madara.

As much as she longed for the brat to return, Tsunade was certain that the moment Madara learned that his KIA status was a lie, he'd head straight for Konoha... Even if Naruto was absent, that wouldn't matter a wit. Madara would bet that an attack on Konoha would draw Naruto out, where ever he was. And Tsunade was under _no_ illusions that she could stop, let alone defeat the legendary Uchiha. Even with Jiraiya at her side, the outcome was far from certain... anyone below them in power joining the fray, would simply add to the death toll.

And that was the best-case scenario; if Madara brought even _half_ of the remaining members of Akatsuki with him, they could handily achieve what the Kyuubi had almost done, totally devastate Konoha. Kami knows how few of them would be left to rebuild Konoha, and the thought of Orochimaru, taking advantage of the situation to pay a call on the survivors, gave her the shivers.

One of the important unknowns was Konoha's newest ally, SGC. What they could bring to Konoha was still a question mark, when weighed against the power of 5 S-Ranked Missing Nins, _and_ Madara. '_They may well have weapons capable of stopping them... but what would the cost of using them be?_' Then there was the other unknown, yet to be added to the scales... Von Krieger, an unknown Kekkei Genkai, and a formerly extinct ninja built around it.

His disassociation aside, she suspected he knew far more than he was willing to admit. She easily understood his hesitation to share _any_ significant details of his clan. Tsunade smirked at the memory of his retreat at her casual attempt to charm him; she glanced down at her epic chest. '_That's the first time anybody's reacted the way he did... maybe I'm losing my touch._'

No... any reluctance to discuss the hidden facts of one's own clan, and their jutsus, was a common enough trait by her reckoning. Like every other clan, she had her fair share of secrets about the Senju's that she was hardly willing to talk about. '_It was a bit much for me to think Von Krieger would be any different._' As she poured herself another drink, Tsunade finally noticed Jiraiya standing in a doorway, wearing a thoughtful look, a towel, and little else.

Before she comment on his appearance, he spoke up. "From the look on your face, I gather that you've come to the same conclusions I have."

Tsunade resisted the urge to relieve her dark mood by berating him, and simply nodded in reply.

"Cheer up, Hime. In a week or so, you'll give Naruto a big hug and tell him you miss him." He replied with a sunny smile. "And, I'll have an opportunity to find out why he's stopped complaining about his... companion."

Tsunade gave him a puzzled look. "I don't think Naruto's ever said a bad word about Hinata." Jiraiya gave her an askance look, and tapped his stomach with his left hand. She sighed and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I've been wondering about that myself, but..." Tsunade spread her hands. "...I've been preoccupied with all the things that have been going on." She frowned and patted the papers on the table. "And that was _before_ you dropped this on me."

Jiraiya nodded and smiled agreeably. "Understandable, I was in shock myself when I read the report." As he turned to go back to the bath he added, "Now that we know what we're facing, concocting a scheme to permit Naruto to come back for visits will be easier than just confining him to the 'gate chamber." He gave her an encouraging smile. "And I'm sure that you'll find a way to free up some time to go visit him in the future, right?"

Tsunade gave him a crooked smile. "Stop trying to cheer me up, you pervert... go get dressed, we still have to figure out how to deal with..." She tapped the papers. "..._him_."

===April 16, 10:55 PM, Tsuchikage's Residence, Iwagakure===

Onoki hovered near the center of his private study. Slowly circling his desk, he repeatedly glanced at the report laying on his desk. Try as he might, Onoki couldn't put the contents out of his mind... in a single day, over 40 years of careful, patient work had disappeared like a plate of Rock mochi left within reach of his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi.

While all but a few of the agents were low-value operatives, the stream of information they regularly sent to Iwa, was assembled into a comprehensive mosaic of Konoha's shinobi activity. But more importantly, it apprised Iwa of any changes in Leaf's mission mode. While the quality, and power of the Leaf nins was the main reason why Konoha was a dangerous opponent; their ability, and capacity, to rapidly shift from normal operations to war-level status, made them difficult to over-power.

Onoki sighed as he recalled his last major campaign against Konoha; he almost had them defeated until _he_ showed up... the scourge of Iwa, the dreaded Yellow Flash... Minato Namikaze. What would have been Iwa's greatest triumph, the gutting of Konoha as the central power of the Five Elemental Nations, morphed into a near-disaster in less than a fortnight.

Everyone in Iwagakure had breathed a sigh of relief when the news of the Fourth Hokage's death, during the Kyuubi's rampage on Konoha, reached Iwa. They took further solace in the fact that a potential heir, from his Uzumaki mistress, was amongst the dead... One Yellow Flash was enough of a calamity for Iwa's tastes.

Onoki's face turned sullen as his eyes passed over the other report on his desk... the current analysis of Konoha's newest Hokage, barely a half a year into her tenure. When he had first heard of the remaining Senju's appointment, he had laughed so hard that his back ached for a week.

That Konoha was so desperate, after the death of the Third Hokage, to hunt down and bring back a debt-ridden, lush of a kunoichi who had deserted her duty was beyond belief. His eyes passed over all the reports on his desk... as prideful as he was, Onoki was forced to admit that he had been wrong. He hadn't a clue as to what, or who, had roused her so... but he cursed whatever had done it.

Drifting down slowly, Onoki canceled the flight jutsu and settled into his comfy chair. '_I can't let this stand, something is happening in Konoha... I'd bet my Kage's hat on that._' He fixed his gaze on a locked bottom desk drawer. '_At least one thing is going my way,..._' Onoki smiled a nasty smile. '_...the investment, and the effort I spent to harm Fire's trade with the Eastern Continent, and feast on Water's chaos, is paying handsome dividends._'

He let out a nasty snicker. '_I've even managed to hamstring those pesky sand lizards in the bargain. Konoha's sole ally will soon need an oryoki... the Fourth Kazekage was a fool to alienate his Daimyo by scheming with someone as dangerous as Orochimaru._' Onoki smiled as he recalled the reports from his best agent in Wind.

Turning the greedy, vain Wind Daimyo against his own Hidden Village had been child's play... and playing to his poorly concealed sybaritic tastes had been equally effortless. All it took was a minor diversion of his profits, among other things, from a steady stream of goods... of spurious origin, crossing through Wind to Earth Country, to get the Wind Daimyo to focus on all the wrong things.

"No... I shan't let this opportunity pass." Onoki nodded to himself. '_However serious this setback in Konoha may be, I still have the better of them. I no longer have the Five-Tails... thanks to those ungrateful bastards in Akatsuki, and the Four-Tails may be beyond my reach, but Konoha is equally naked now._' He pondered his options for several minutes before stirring, then opened a drawer and pulled out a scroll. '_First things first, I need to get someone back into Konoha. Whatever else may happen, I'll not go in blind... however... perhaps it's time to prod them a bit, and get a better measure of their new Hokage._'

===Thursday, April 17, 9:30 AM, Cafeteria, SGC===

Jack looked up from his coffee and smiled. "Ahh... here comes the lovebirds."

Sam added, "It's about time you showed up." After a sip from her mug, she added, "You don't happen to know where Hinata is, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Ric replied as he sat down with Irina. "I overheard her yesterday asking Naruto if she could join him, and Jeri this morning."

Daniel asked, "I thought Sergeant Major Hayes wanted closed sessions with Naruto."

Ric set his tray aside and replied, "Yes he did, but I also heard her ask for some advice from Jeri." He added with an impish smile. "And I suspect she wanted to work off some of those buns she ate yesterday."

Teal'c added, "They were quite good." There was a round of chuckles at both comments.

Jack smiled. "How could you possibly tell, Teal'c? You were inhaling them in one bite."

"Actually, it was 3 bites, Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c replied in a matter-of-fact voice.

Jack looked at Ric's plate and grinned. "So are you in a competition with Naruto and Teal'c now? That's a heck of a lot of chow there."

Ric shrugged in reply. "Yeah, I know... but for some reason, I'm _really_ hungry this morning." He got a thoughtful look on his face and added in a quiet voice, "Actually, ever since she got me acquainted with my... inner friend, my appetite has gone up. especially since yesterday."

Jack glanced about before replying, "So when are you going back... there?"

Before Ric could reply, Teal'c announced, "They've arrived." He pointed with his spoon at the late-arriving trio.

A few minutes later, after Naruto, Hinata, and Jeri had settled in, Jack asked, "So how did you do with the test?"

Naruto smiled a foxy smile and replied, "I passed, and Jeri-sensei started me on some new stuff."

Ric spooned some sausage gray onto his scrambled eggs and asked, "Did you find my input helpful, Jeri?"

Hayes nodded, smiled and looked at Naruto. "Yup. Your questions to Naruto's old Sensei were quite helpful... I'm looking forward to meeting him."

Jeri noted the pensive look on Naruto's face and ruffled his hair. "I'll have none of that, Naruto... 'cept as a lesson, what _was_ ain't as important as what is, and what _will be_."

Sam smiled and gave Hinata a nudge. "That's good advice for you as well." She added a covert wink.

Hinata gave Sam a shy smile, then gave Ric a thoughtful look. "By the way, Ric-dono, I'm still surprised that you recognized my imoutou so easily."

Ric chuckled. "You shouldn't be, I suspect there aren't that many Hyuuga's that fit the description you gave me... besides, her eyes were a dead-on match to yours."

Hinata froze in mid-bite of her hash browns. "Ano, Ric-dono... Hanabi-chan's eyes are pure white, like all the Hyuuga."

Ric stared at Hinata's eyes and replied. "No. I have my far share of flaws, but color blindness isn't one of them... her eyes had the same..." He looked closer at Hinata. "...pale lavender tint as you. I'd bet my colonelcy, and my next paycheck on that."

Hinata's breath caught in her throat. '_That's impossible... unless... I need to send a message to Hakumei as soon as possible._' Everyone at the table noted the look on Hinata's face.

Sam gently rubbed Hinata's back and asked Ric, "Are you sure it wasn't a trick of the light?"

Ric briefly pondered the source of Hinata's apprehension, then shook his head. "Not a chance, I scored 100% on the Ishihara test... on all the 38 plates."

Sam blinked in surprise. "That's impossible... some of those plates can _only_ be seen if you have defective color vision."

"I realize that... now. When I took the test, many years ago, the technician who gave it to me just shrugged it off as a prank, and scribbled some notes in my med file." Ric set down his fork and pointed at his eyes. "A number of things have gotten me to re-think what I thought I knew." He nodded at Hinata. "Having additional points of reference, and yesterday's trip, helped considerably."

Ric lowered his voice in spite of the empty tables surrounding them. "Yesterday, I saw 2 examples of people with _no_ discernable pupils, among other things."

Daniel spoke up. "You mean like Anko-san?"

"Don't forget the slitted eyes of the young man with the dog." Irina added.

Naruto nodded. "All the Inuzuka's are like that." Jack's eyebrows went up at both comments.

Hinata shook her head. "That's not so, Naruto. I've met Kiba's sister, Hana; her eyes are quite normal."

Ric muttered. "That's interesting."

Teal'c spoke up. "Have you mentioned this to Dr. Fraiser?"

"It's all in my report." Ric replied blandly. "Besides, I'm not giving her an excuse to extract another half-liter of blood from me." Jack snorted... biting back the urge to laugh at Ric's comment.

Partially glad for the distraction, Hinata asked, "Ano... Ric-dono? Who was the other example?"

Ric paused for a moment before answering. "I made the acquaintance of some Yamanaka's, an older woman, a Jonin named Kouseki if I remember correctly, and a girl... Kakashi said her name was Ino. I noted that both of them had solid blue, pupil-less irises, surrounded by a black border... I thought it rather striking."

Ric's observation earned him a poke in the ribs from Irina. The humorous gleam in her eyes didn't match the growling tone in her voice. "Do I need to keep an eye on you? First a princess, and now another woman."

Jack snickered and waved his spoon at Ric. "Get used to it Irina, he's a magnet for mayhem... among _other_ things."

"Actually, Ino Yamanaka is also a Clan Heir, and the Hime of her Clan." Hinata unhelpfully supplied. This secured Ric a second poke from Irina... which he skillfully deflected with an elbow.

Naruto piled on with his own comment, after giving Hinata a sly wink. "And she was one of the prettiest girls in our Academy class."

Irina's reaction was to playfully grab his ear. "No more trips alone to strange places without me, Darling." She added in low, sultry voice, "I bolshe ne trahay strannih princess bez moevo razreshenia."

Jeri snorted, shook his head, and held his tongue... which Naruto and Hinata took note of.

Then they focused their attention on Daniel... who manfully strove to ignore their pointed stares... not to mention Jack's amused gaze, Teal'c's bland curiosity, and Sam's frown for several seconds, until he finally commented, "It's an adult thing." And left it at that.

Naruto and Hinata traded looks, with the latter replying, "But we _are_ adults, Daniel-san."

Jeri give the young nins a gimlet eye and muttered, "Hopefully not that adult... at least not yet."

===Sunday, April 20, 10:20 AM, Outside Konoha===

Adopting a quick, but measured pace, the party of Suna-nins finally had the walls of Konoha in sight. Temari gave the 2 kunoichi a covert glance. '_They've both bore up remarkably well, given the pace Gaara set._' Her youngest brother had surprised everyone by declaring that they would leave a day earlier than planned, not long after she'd announced that the escorts had been selected.

After they cleared the gate of Sunagakure, a couple of hours before sunrise, Temari had quietly asked why they had left early, even though she suspected the reason why. Gaara's reply confirmed her suspicions. "...because I chose to do the unexpected." She easily understood the motive of Gaara's ploy; that there were agents of all stripes in Suna was a given. So saying one thing, then doing another naturally followed.

The four-day journey to Konoha was neither a casual pace, nor a foot-race; by midnight of the first day, they were well over the border into River Country. The day after that, Gaara's party stopped at a small town near the River-Fire border, and spent the night in a small, modest inn.

Shortly after they'd entered the town, the Suna nins had an encounter in the street with a well-dressed trio of young men, sons of what passed for wealthy and influential families in that minor town. Temari hadn't said anything to Gaara at the time, but as they neared the gate of Konoha, she finally remarked, "Gaara you didn't have to do what you did in that town back in River Country; I could've handled those idiots... he just said I have a great figure." Her escorts, Sari and Matsuri, nodded in agreement. Temari added with a slight frown, "It's not everyday I get compliments."

Gaara stopped and turned to face her. "A mere civilian made sexual remarks about the Sebaku Clan heir; he will not do it again... _and_ I didn't kill him."

Temari sighed in frustration. "Gaara, you crushed his right hand, hung him by his neck with your sand 'til his face turned purple, then threw him through a wall!"

A small, cold smile briefly curled his lips. "I showed him mercy... I could of done much worse."

"I agree with Gaara-san... and it did scare the others away." Matsuri added.

Sari nodded, a small smile on her face. She wasn't quite as polite, or reserved as her friend, and thought what Gaara did to that preening dolt was funny as hell... and beyond the smile she let out, masked her amusement. In her mind, it was yet another reason why she was a better match for Gaara-kun.

'_I do have great breasts... I just wish the first guy to tell me that had been someone else._' Temari thought, then sighed in defeat. "Fine... just make an effort to show the people of Konoha you _have_ changed, and they don't need to fear you... please. Your last visit to Konoha didn't go so well..." Temari said, then briefly bit her bottom lip. "...except for Naruto-san."

Gaara's old expression returned. "I will not dishonor myself by harming the home of my friend." Gaara said in a dead voice, turned and resumed walking toward Konoha, now just a few hundred yards away.

Temari gave her companions a meaningful glance and whispered, "Remember that look on his face. No matter what you may hear about Naruto once we enter Konoha, keep your comments to yourself... and if I tell you to go get help, or to run away, do it _without_ hesitation. If Gaara's control slips, let _me_ handle him." With that bit of advice passed along, she motioned for them to follow Gaara.

Matsuri and Sari nodded. There were damn few people in Suna ignorant of the pre-invasion version of Gaara. Even so, Temari had fully discussed with them the Gaara that was, versus the new version, after they had been selected as her escorts. They (and all of Suna) definitely preferred the new Gaara, and quietly grateful they hadn't taken part in the Chuunin Exam invasion.

===10:40 AM, Near Konoha Stadium===

After registering their presence at the main gate's guard station, all of them followed Gaara towards the Tower. Temari let a smile show as she watched her escorts reactions to the green splendor that was Konoha. "We're coming up on Konoha Stadium to the right." Temari said, pointing at the imposing structure coming up on their right.

Both girls looked, and gasped in shock. "It's bigger than anything we have in Suna." Matsuri exclaimed.

"It's impressive, I guess..." Temari said casually, then smiled as she said, "...but I prefer the Shopping District."

Both girls heads whipped around toward Temari, eyes big as saucers. "Shopping District?"

"You did remember to bring some money?" Temari asked, then held in her laughter as both girls immediately checked their pouches to be sure they hadn't forgotten their wallets. "Good." She added after they nodded.

===April 20, 11:52 AM, Konoha Business District===

After a brief meeting with Shizune, who set their meeting for the next morning, to Gaara's annoyance... She stated that the Hokage had to prepare some things first, and that they'd been given accommodations in the Gold Leaf Hotel.

Sensing Gaara's simmering mood, Temari attempted to distract him by heading straight for Konoha's finest hotel. It was an impressive sight, consisting of two wide, cylindrical, 8-story green and yellow towers, joined together by covered walkways, and boasted of having one of the few elevators in Konoha.

Temari was given the same suite she'd had before, but shared it with the Genin. Gaara received a slightly smaller suite next door. As the kunoichi's marveled at all the comforts and features of their rooms, Temari got an idea... She suggested that they all change into more casual outfits, and make the wearing of their Suna hitai-ite's less prominent.

During her previous visit to Konoha, even though no one was rude, or openly hostile to her, Temari could easily sense a rise in tension where ever she went, and a politely muted hostility from the Leaf shinobi she encountered. Not that she really blamed them... Suna had dishonored their alliance with Konoha without a formal repudiation of it first, _and_ partnered with of their worst enemy, Orochimaru. That they permitted anyone from Sunagakure entry into Konoha, and let them leave alive and unharmed, said more about the Hokage than anything else.

After they had changed, and Temari had checked on Gaara... who had decided to spend his time meditating in his room, the trio of Suna kunoichi left the hotel. Since it was past noon, Temari decided next destination would be the Matsumachi Bakery. After several minutes of looking over the bakery's selection, and sampling several items, they made their purchases and went on their way. Temari asked, "Like the buns?"

"Suna has cinnamon buns, but ours aren't much better than eating sand compared to these!" Matsuri exclaimed.

Sari stuffed the remaining half into her mouth and nodded vigorously as she chewed it. She'd only had one bun and some samples, but was quickly realizing she was getting addicted to Konoha's sweets. '_Now I understand how mom got her figure, avoids anything too sweet and did the same to me... not that I'd mind having her big boobs, but I better be careful or I'll ruin my slim figure. If I'm like mom, I'll gain a lot of my weight in my chest._'

Matsuri swallowed her last bite as she pulled a cherry bun from her bag. "I'll do anything you want Temari-san... even go on a date with Kankuro-san, if you get me assigned as your escort permanently."

Temari and Sari stopped and stared at her a moment. "Lets just see how this trip goes first okay. Besides... I'd hate to see you ruin your shot at Gaara." Temari replied casually.

Sari coughed as she suddenly swallowed her mouthful, Matsuri turned bright red.

"Why do you think I picked a pair of new Genin over seasoned Chuunin... and if either of you say a word to anyone about my girlfriend test... you'll both get assigned to guard duty at the Hospital morgue... the graveyard shift." Temari whispered sternly, making sure she looked them in the eyes.

Both girls paled, it was one of the worst assignments in Suna, any kunoichi assigned there could kiss her social life good bye forever. After a week there, even the hardcore perverts wouldn't touch you, male or female. Both nodded and swore to say nothing.

Temari smiled. "Good, now that we understand each other, lets forget this little chat ever happened and have some fun, I assume you both remember what fun is?" They relaxed, smiled and nodded. "We have just enough time to finish our treats before we get to our first stop... you won't believe the things you can get here in Konoha."

===1:06 PM, Konoha Shopping District===

"Where are we heading Temari-san?" Sari asked, a large bag of various beauty products in her left hand.

Temari smiled, she'd been waiting for this. "Someplace special. Every shinobi in Konoha from new Genin to Tsunade shop here... and for kunoichi, this is one of _the_ elite social hubs of Konoha." Temari explained with a smile then started towards their next destination, her escorts bubbling with curiosity. In Suna, kunoichi generally weren't able to be feminine, for many reasons, so for them this was a very special treat just to be able to come here.

===The Iron Kimono===

Ino leaned forward in her chair and set her elbows on the counter, across from Hotaru. "It feels good getting to just sit and chat with you again..." Ino said, then with her elbows set, interlaced her fingers and cracked her knuckles. "...I'm getting pretty good at the basic healing jutsus, but doing them for 3 or 4 hours straight is tiring."

Hotaru giggled softly. "It still beats training with Kouseki-chan, I'll wager."

Ino laughed. "I love her dearly... but as a Sensei she's an A-Ranked bitch." Ino replied with a smile.

Hotaru glanced at Ino's arms. "It seems to agree with you though. Most may not see it yet, but I can, your body is starting to change. You're getting stronger too, you aren't as tired as you were when you first started."

Ino smiled as she straightened proudly. "Really? Thank you Hotaru-chan..." Ino paused and glanced down. "...I just hope all this training doesn't cost me my boobs." Ino pouted. "I want to be strong... but not if I look like a boy."

Hotaru's expression stayed light, despite how hard she was laughing inside. She leaned forward. "Does Kouseki look like a man?" Hotaru asked casually.

Ino laughed. "Not on her worst day... did you forget how she's built?" Ino stated as she held her hands in front of her chest, palms in, about 6 inches away.

"No, but apparently you did." Hotaru said casually, then smiled when Ino sighed and put her face in her hands. "And Inomi-chan isn't exactly flat-chested herself. You'll be fine Ino-chan... just follow Kouseki's advice on training, eat right, and within... 3 years, you'll have a chest that rivals or surpasses Kouseki's and your mother's. Trust me. I'm not a med-nin, but I've been a kunoichi tailor long enough to know good breeding when I see it."

Ino blushed slightly then turned to the front of the store when the little bell rang. "Welcome to... sorry, reflex. This is your shop, you do it."

Hotaru nodded, and headed for the front of the store to greet her customers.

Ino softly laughed to herself. "She's right... and big boobs do run in the family." '_Most of the women I saw while Gossip Hunting were E cups at most. There's maybe 20 women in Konoha that are F cup or bigger, and maybe 6 of those are H cup or bigger. Hmm, this might be useful information, I'll have to talk to Hotaru about it... later._'

x

After entering, her 2 younger companions stopped at her side... their jaws, and bags, dropped. Temari smiled.

"Welcome to the Iron Kimono, how may I help you?" Hotaru stated as she came into view; her business smile became a genuine smile. "Temari-san, welcome back." Hotaru noted the expressions, and bags at their feet, and knew what was going on. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "First time?" She inquired softly.

Temari nodded, then searched her memory for the term Hotaru had used when she first came here. "Suna just isn't the best place to be... feminine... poor girls are shopping virgins when it comes to such things." She waved her hand about; the store's well-stocked shelves and racks of his and her ninjawear, and accessories, practical and stylish, beckoned.

A few seconds later Ino skidded to a halt next to Hotaru, a big smile on her face. "Did you say shopping virgins?"

Matsuri and Sari suddenly snapped out of their daze and into casual defensive stances, facing the blonde girl.

"Relax." Temari stated firmly, making the hand-sign to stand down. "Ino Yamanaka, right?"

Ino nodded. "You're the... Suna kunoichi that lost to my lazy bum of a teammate, Shikamaru... and put my good friend Tenten in the Hospital for a week." Ino said, proudly at first, then with a chilly tone.

"And more... all of which I deeply regret, but I had no choice." Temari replied then bowed, Matsuri and Sari immediately matched her. "Tenten also forgave me... which you know. This isn't how I wanted our first meeting to go, but you know I'm trustworthy. I'll answer any questions if you'll show my escorts how to be properly dressed kunoichi." Temari added, with a playful smile and wink.

"You paying?" Ino asked, then smiled when Temari nodded. "Then I hope you brought your checkbook... I'm in need of a new outfit, this look doesn't suit me anymore. Hotaru-chan, you have 2 new customers to show around, I'll handle Temari if that's okay."

Hotaru looked at the trio of Suna nins then turned to Ino. "You know the store as well as I do... I could use a temporary assistant. I think an hour's work is worth a new outfit for my best customer."

"Hotaru-san, this is Matsuri... and Sari, newly-minted Genin, and our escorts." Temari replied.

"Our?" Ino asked curiously.

"Gaara is here for a meeting with Tsunade-sama in the morning." Temari replied, her countenance had a hint of sadness to it.

Via Sakura's account of Gaara's last visit to Konoha Ino immediately grasped the reason for his return. "It's a shame that he's returning for the wrong reason." With that bit of protective deception done, there was the other issue... Ino was equally aware of what could happen if Gaara lost control. As Ino considered what to say on that matter, she realized that Tsunade would _never_ permit his return if she thought Gaara was a threat to the village.

Temari, an adept kunoichi, sensed Ino's thoughts and quietly stated, "No, he promised me... and he's changed, Gaara is _not_ the same person you saw at the Chuunin Exams." She detected the unease of her Genin escorts, and added quietly, "Could we please not discuss this now, I don't want to spoil the good mood."

"I agree, Matsuri, Sari... please follow me to the back, let's get you both measured first." Hotaru said, then turned and headed for the fitting room in the back.

Temari motioned to the Genin. "Go on, relax and enjoy it." They grabbed their bags and followed Hotaru. Temari looked at Ino and could almost hear the question coming. She whispered, "We're just escorting Gaara, he's here to find out for himself what happened to Naruto, and if needed... avenge him. No one in Suna could of stopped him from coming."

After a moment of studying her, Ino nodded. "Okay, you've been interrogated enough..." She smiled briefly. "...since Tsunade didn't smash you like an empty sake bottle the first time you came to Konoha, I'll give you a chance. You've been here a few times so I have to ask... have you been in the back room?" Ino glanced at the red silk curtain, smiled slyly and winked.

Temari blushed slightly at the memory of what lay beyond the curtain, nodded, then changed the subject. "You mentioned a new outfit... would you mind if I helped you?"

Temari took a silent, deep breath and decided to reach out to the Konoha nin. "I could use some girlfriends... or any friends. You can't imagine how hard it is to make even a single friend when you have a brother with a reputation like his. And dating... that's a fantasy." Temari said and laughed softly.

"That explains your visit to the back room... come on, you can tell me how you keep sand out of your underwear." Ino said, enjoying Temari's reactions.

"I don't wear any." Temari said with a straight face, even after Ino's eyes widened, at least for a few seconds, then mostly suppressed her laughter. "I had to do that... just between us, I have a great sense of humor, but I had to hide it, among other things, my entire life." Temari added with a serious tone, "In Suna, you're either tough, or dead. Desert life doesn't give you any other options. That's why I love coming to Konoha. So... care to help a fellow blonde out?"

"Only if you're a real blonde." Ino whispered and smiled pervertedly. Temari blushed slightly and nodded. "Then let's have some fun." Ino gave a short sadistic laugh that would of made Anko proud. Temari winced. "Just keep it under 24,000 okay, that's all I have left in my budget. I... I can't go over that." Temari said seriously, but nervously.

Ino noted the way Temari said can't, and knew from experience what it was like to be on a financial leash, and what would happen if she broke it. "If you agree to owe me a major favor, of my choosing... then as long as you're with me, I'll pay for everything from my personal account, something I rarely do, so make it worthwhile for me."

Temari was a little shocked Ino would do this for her, especially considering they just met. "Agreed, since your friends let me in on... it." Temari whispered.

Ino gave a small nod, smiled and put her left arm around Temari's shoulders. "Then let's go blow some brunette girls minds."

Temari laughed softly, smiled and nodded agreeably.

===Sunday, April 20, 1:35 PM, SG1 Team Room, SGC===

'_thunk_'... Sam's eyes went from the shuriken sticking in the wall, 2 feet from her head, to an improvised target, 8 feet away, set up in the corner of the room, studded with kunais and shurikens, then to Daniel... with an 'oops' expression on his face.

Jeri rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe you should stick to firearms, Professor."

The telephone on Jack's desk rang, breaking the silence. Jack leaned over an picked up the receiver. "SG1, Colonel O'Neill speaking." He listened with a neutral face.

Sam closed her laptop and muttered, "Saved by the bell." She scooted to the far end of the couch, further away from the plywood target.

Irina leaned down and gave Daniel a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Stick with shakhmaty, Daniil... with that, you are good."

Jack hung up the phone and turned about in his chair. "Happy days everybody, some of us have a meeting with the General at 2 PM."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

Jack grinned in reply and pointed at Ric. "He said he wanted to follow up on the mission report you guys filed."

Ric's response was to fling his kunai at the corner target... and burying it to the handle, hitting the crudely drawn man-shaped outline in the crotch. "Good. I have some questions of my own to ask."

Daniel's eyebrow twitched, one of many different reactions in the room, as he marked Ric's throw, then looked at Jeri and asked, "Is he usually like this?"

Jeri gave Daniel an unreadable face. "You have no idea."

===3:15 PM, Iron Kimono===

Ino sat in the chair by the back counter, still softly laughing. "I loved the looks on their faces, but I had to let Temari have some fun too..." She said to Hotaru, then her expression shifted to confusion at how Hotaru was studying her. "What...?" She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you staring at me that way?"

Hotaru leaned in close from behind the counter. "Nothing is wrong, but I've noticed your wardrobe isn't up to your new training..." Hotaru explained, then smiled. "How'd you like to test something for me?" She asked softly.

Ino's face lit up. "You have a new fabric?"

"Yes. It's tougher than anything else I'm using... for general use anyway. As you're my best customer, I've noticed your clothes weren't standing up to Kouseki's training, and knowing you like I do, I decided to plan ahead. I made an outfit to your measurements, and in your style. I also got a little help from Tsukamu-san for the armor." Hotaru explained.

Ino thought a moment. "That's Tenten's dad, right?"

Hotaru nodded. "Yes, but Tenten doesn't know about this project... follow me into the back."

x

"What do you think?" Hotaru asked Ino, admiring herself in the full length mirror.

After a final half turn to the left, and then to the right, Ino gave herself a final once over from the floor up. Knee length shinobi boots, with built-in shin guards; new shorts that went almost to her knees, with small armor plates on the front of her thighs; and, a short, split skirt covering the front and back.

Her new top was similar to the old one, sleeveless, and it stopped a few inches below her chest, now covered by a single, molded plate that fit her curves exactly, and linked to a back plate by a pair of curved shoulder guards. Her top was fastened to her shorts with closely-woven armored mesh, protecting her stomach and lower back.

The final touch, fingerless elbow-length gloves, with forearm plates built in. All the plates were dark, almost black, but they weren't metal, and all the cloth was her standard dark purple. Ino tapped her chest plate. "What are these made of? They almost feel metallic, but they aren't metal. I love the design though, Kouseki-sensei will too, she wanted me to get a more functional outfit anyway. It'll work for when I'm on duty, serious but still sexy."

Hotaru smiled. "The plates are reinforced plastic. Tsukamu and I collaborated to make them strong, but light. The fabric is made of several thin layers of material, combined with 2 layers of my finest armored mesh, to protect the wearer from senbon, shuriken, and kunai, and it's very resistant to penetration from those types of lighter edged weapons... _unless_ there's chakra enhancement involved." Hotaru frowned thoughtfully. "In that circumstance, no armor I know of will be of much value."

"The plates will resist strikes from a katana... up to a point, but I'd avoid taking a blow like that, if possible... a skilled attacker will probably have a sword to match them. This composite isn't meant to be the equal of steel plate, so bear that in mind if you use your forearm guards to block or deflect attacks. It's specifically designed for kunoichi to take advantage of our speed and agility, while protecting our important areas." Hotaru said with a smile.

Ino replied after pondering what she had heard. "Med nin could use this too, that's something Tsunade-sama drilled into the older shinobi at the Hospital. Med nin don't engage in battle, we're to avoid it, if possible, and keep our allies healthy. I ran into her 2 days ago during a training session at the hospital... she made sure that I had all that memorized, in case I ever took that role on a mission."

Hotaru held in her laughter. "Did you get, the look?"

Ino shuddered as a chill ran down her spine.

"I'll take that as a yes. I was around back then, Ino. Trust me, you're seeing a far mellower version of Tsunade; she wasn't so... polite, when she was younger." Hotaru stated.

Ino just nodded, she'd heard some stories of her own at the hospital. But, based on how Tsunade had acted when she thought Naruto was dead, Ino was glad she was too young to of known _that_ Tsunade. "I heard from the older kunoichi med nins that Tsunade created many of the policies that are standard now."

"She did... we lost a lot of good shinobi back when med nins were an uncommon asset amongst the field teams. I'd be careful about bringing this up to him... but Kakashi owes his Sharingan eye to Tsunade being a forceful advocate for more med nins." Hotaru replied, her mind drifting back to her active days; she lost her first, and only, team for that very reason. Only experience allowed Hotaru to fully suppress her emotions.

Ino filed that information away for later, she'd ask Kakashi about that part of his past, when she thought it appropriate to do so.

"Enough of this gloomy talk, let's get you out of here and showing off your new outfit... just keep the details of the cloth, and the armor, to yourself. You can tell Kouseki, she'll keep the details confidential, and it'll help her evaluate this test outfit."

Ino nodded and smiled. "Hai... besides, it makes my boobs look bigger." Ino giggled, poked one of Hotaru's Kage size breasts then turned and headed for the door to the store.

Hotaru smiled in amusement at Ino's friendly shot at her chest, then began closing the shop for the day.

===Sunday, April 20, 4:55 PM, Cafeteria, SGC===

"As meetings go, that one wasn't so bad." Daniel commented. "Besides, it seemed like Janet was asking most of the questions."

"Indeed. Doctor Fraiser's and Colonel Von Krieger's discussion about our friend's world was most stimulating."

Hinata glanced at Ric, his opinions about Doujutsu's were unexpectedly astute. And Janet-sensei's contributions showed that she had been ruminating over the subject of Bloodline Limits very seriously, She'd even pulled Hinata aside after the meeting, and reassured her that the subject of the Byakuugan was still a private matter between them.

"So how do you know so much about genetics, and genetic selection?" Sam asked.

Ric shrugged. "I don't know _that_ much about it. But, I did write a final term paper on the subject when I was a firstie at the Point. It took me most of the academic year to research it." He chuckled at the looks on Naruto and Hinata's faces. "A firstie is the nickname for forth-year cadets at West Point. Anyway... our professor gave us a choice of subjects to write a final term paper on. I chose that particular topic, and got an A on it."

"Even so, your insights indicate some degree of familiarity on the matter." Daniel proffered.

"You can blame my family for that. My mother is a Veterinarian; she raises and shows Maine Coon cats. And, I have a sister-in-law who breeds Icelandic horses as a profitable hobby. After many years of holiday table-talk, you pick a few things up... whether it be animals, or people, breeding is breeding.

Jack asked Sam, "What was your final Academy paper on?"

Sam grinned. "I did mine on the Kaluza—Klein Theory, and it's relationship to five-dimensional physics."

Jack paused in mid-bite of his fried chicken. "That makes my head hurt just hearing the title."

Sam smirked and turned her attention to Irina. "So what did you study in your service school?"

"Courses at the FSB Academy are state secret... but I can say that I learned many useful things." Irina smiled playfully. "I drive very well, and I am excellent helicopter pilot."

"What kind, and how many hours?" Jack asked.

Irina smiled proudly, "Many different models, both Russian and... others. As to how long,..." She thought for a few moments. "...I started 9 years ago. I think I have over 3,000 hours now."

She noted the questioning look on Ric's face and added in Russian, "_Grandfather trusted very few people in Moscow when he sent me here, so he forbade me from flying._" She added with a wry smile, "_Besides, I was hung over that morning. I never drink and fly... bad combination._"

"Ano, Irina-san... could you fly the kind of machine that Naruto and I were in?" Hinata asked.

Irina let out a sly smile. "Perhaps... or something like it."

Ric saw the looks on Jack and Sam's faces and sighed. "_Don't_ ask... just roll with it."

===April 21, 6:31 AM, Hyuuga Compound===

As they crossed the front grounds, on their way to the main gate, Neji covertly glanced at his cousin, Hanabi. While he didn't know the details, what he did know was that his elder cousin was alive, somewhere... it tore at his heart that he couldn't tell Hanabi her sister wasn't dead.

Recently he had noticed 2 subtle changes in her. Since the incident with the stranger, when no elders were about her, he could sense brief moments of cheerfulness, peeking out from behind the neutral mask Hanabi constantly wore. It was much like the mood Hinata projected whenever she had activities outside the clan compound.

Something else he'd noticed, that no one had mentioned... A day or two after Hanabi was informed that Hinata had been declared 'missing', her eyes had taken on the same hue as her (supposedly) dead sister. An event that no one had openly remarked upon. For whatever reason Neji could imagine, the subject of the pale lavender tint in Hinata's, or Hannah-sama, her late mother's eyes, was a forbidden topic.

In part, Neji could understand the silence surrounding Hinata's mother... any discussion of deceased clan members, was limited by etiquette to specific occasions. However, it was generally known that several of the Elders had displayed a muted, lingering hostility towards Hannah-sama, even after her passing, 8 years hence. And, those same Elders had transferred their animus to Hinata... especially Hachiuma.

As they neared the compound's main gate, he signaled the inside guards to open the smaller pedestrian gate. Thinking about Hinata gave him an idea; once they were on the street, Neji made sure they were well away from compound before he spoke. "Tell me what really happened with the stranger."

"You know what happened." Hanabi replied emotionlessly.

Neji stopped, turned to her and kneeled. "Not the story the Clan's being told... the whole truth..." Neji glanced around quickly then smiled. "..for Hinata, please trust me... Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi barely managed to suppress her reaction. Looking at his face, her instincts told her what she'd seen and heard since the Chuunin Exams was true... but there was one test she could give him that he could only pass if he truly did want to honor Hinata's memory. "Take me to Matsumachi's on the way to Academy, and I'll tell you."

Neji's smile subtly widened. "Agreed... but we'll have to hurry if you want to eat them there."

Hanabi nodded, suppressing her emotions for the moment.

===April 21, 8:14 AM, Outside Tsunade's Office===

Temari, Matsuri and Sari stood from their bench seat as Kurenai approached them, coming out of Tsunade's office. Temari gave her a small bow, which the Genin matched a moment later. "Kurenai-san, I didn't expect you here... is there a problem?" Temari asked calmly, glancing at Gaara, standing close by... and the gourd on his back, specifically the cork.

Kurenai smiled, obviously amused. "No, not in the least. I was summoned to show your escorts about the village during the meeting. It appears that it's going to take longer than expected, but I wasn't told why." She gestured politely towards the door to the Hokage's office. "You may both go in now."

"Wait... both? I thought the Hokage only wanted to speak to Gaara?" Temari asked, slightly confused.

"Tsunade-sama will explain everything. I'll make sure the girls have a good time." Kurenai replied, and smiled.

"You'll obey Kurenai-san. Temari, come." Gaara said matter-of-factly, then headed for the door.

The girls nodded. Temari gave Kurenai a shrug and followed Gaara, he'd been like that all morning. She didn't show it, but she hoped she was about to learn the full truth about Naruto and the Hyuuga Princess. Just the thought of being able to thank Naruto for giving her a real family gave her a very warm feeling, and tingles, that she ignored.

===Tsunade's Office===

"Good morning, Tsunade-dono." Temari said as she crossed the room to a pair of waiting chairs, following Gaara in.

"Please, have a seat." Tsunade offered. Temari nodded and took her normal seat... Gaara didn't so much as blink. "Or stand if you prefer." Tsunade added and gave Temari a subtle smirk that Temari returned. Without another word Tsunade activated one of the office's built in seals, which would alert Shizune to do her part.

"Tell me what happened to Naruto,..." Gaara asked abruptly, followed by the cork on his gourd popping off. "...now." Gaara stated in his old dead voice, staring straight into Tsunade's eyes.

Temari tensed up, prepared to leap to her feet at a second's notice.

Tsunade noted Temari's reaction, but didn't react to her, or Gaara's threat, which didn't surprise her. He was just as protective of his precious people as Naruto. She couldn't fault Gaara for that; she would have had a similar reaction. "Alright, I'll skip the usual crap and get right to it. What you're about to learn is _beyond_ an S-Rank secret, if there's even the smallest breach in security..." Tsunade said emotionlessly and cracked her knuckles. "...I'll personally wipe Suna off the map. Are we clear on this point?"

Temari paled, Tsunade just confirmed her theory. Gaara nodded once, but otherwise didn't react.

Tsunade focused her mind; Temari was easy, but she had to handle Gaara a different way. Her experience with her favorite brat, and the secret report on his battle with Gaara during the invasion, had taught her how to proceed. "If I were talking to anyone else, you'd get the same story everyone else has, but you _aren't_ just anyone. I'm willing to trust you Gaara; you've just shown me the depth of your tie to Naruto. He and Hinata aren't dead... they're on another planet."

Temari's jaw dropped, she was expecting anything _but_ what Tsunade had just stated.

Gaara studied Tsunade's face a long moment before he spoke. "How is this possible? Temari has told me you care for Naruto, as I do, but you have just stated an impossibility... yet I know it is not a lie." Gaara replied emotionlessly, though his mind was struggling to understand what he'd just learned, including his own observations since coming to Konoha.

Tsunade stood and walked around her desk to them. "Recent experience has taught me that telling you _won't_ be enough, so I'm going to cut to the chase, and just show you the truth... _if_ you'll allow me to touch you Gaara. I know your sand normally doesn't allow that."

"If you have no intention of harming me, I'll permit you to touch me." Gaara stated.

"I'm just going to Shunshin you and Temari to a secret location." Tsunade explained. After Gaara nodded, and Temari stood, she stepped in front of them, placed a hand on their shoulders and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

===Monday, April 21, 8:00 AM, SGC===

"I guess this'll do for a first trip." Ric inspected the warehouse dolly that Jeri had borrowed. On it was some of his, and Jeri's, neatly packed clothing, possessions, and several boxes of equipment and supplies they'd need to get organized once they set up an office in Konoha.

Jeri looked over the dolly's contents. "What, no party favors?"

Ric shook his head. "For the moment, I'll stick to carrying my SIG and various blades." He looked at Jeri with a cocked eyebrow. "It's going to be enough of a trial getting all of your gear, _and_ toys, not to mention whatever was kept of my stuff, over to Konoha. Hammond did give us the word during that meeting yesterday, that our equipment from Okinawa would be arriving this coming Thursday."

Jeri grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, sir."

Ric gave Jeri a crooked smile. "Don't be. Some of your collection could come in handy at our new post... Lord knows, outside of a Spec Ops armory, the BATF would be on your ass like white on rice."

"Shucks, 'tain't that bad Colonel." Jeri replied with an almost straight face.

"Jeezus..." Ric sighed and crooked his finger at Jeri. "Stow it and help me push this dolly to the 'gate room."

Jeri paused and asked, "Shouldn't we have Naruto send a message to tell them we're coming to call?"

Ric shrugged with his face. "The Hokage said we were welcome any time... we may as well take her up on that offer."

===April 21, 8:20 AM, Stargate Room, SGC===

"So what are we waiting on now?" Jeri asked.

Ric flicked an annoyed glance at the control room. "Apparently they have to call the General and confirm that we have unrestricted access for 'gate transits to Konoha... looks like the memo hasn't gotten around to everybody yet."

"Hurry up and wait." Jeri replied. "I'm sure it's engraved in stone somewhere."

"No doubt." Ric looked about the room and frowned. "Ya know... this place could be laid out a whole lot smarter. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that they hadn't planned for growth when they set this place up."

Jeri nodded in agreement. "Yup. They got those fifty-cals _way_ too close to that alien gizmo,..." He looked about. "...and there isn't a Claymore in sight, anywhere."

Ric snorted. "You expect propeller-heads to know how to set up a decent defense? They don't even have hard cover for the SP's to get behind, in case something _really_ nasty comes strolling thru that thing." He smiled to himself as he sensed some of the SP's on duty stir at their comments.

Jeri scratched his chin in thought. "Yer right, most of them would be goners if it weren't for that iris-thingie... lessen somebody spoofed them into opening it up." After a moment of thought, he added, "The ramp could be a tad wider as well." Jeri eyeballed the 'gate and did some visualizing. "That thing is just wide enough for a Humvee to get thru."

Ric stared at the 'gate... then snapped his fingers. "Shit. Why didn't I notice that earlier."

"What'cha mean, boss?" Jeri asked.

"Their Stargate... it's bigger than the one in front of us." Ric replied. "Your comment about the Humvee got me to picture their 'gate in my head." He glanced at one the boxes on the dolly. "Perfect. I've a tape measure in that one box, we'll check it out after we get over there."

Jeri looked back at the control room and muttered, "When we get there."

===8:25 AM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

Tsunade stood back and let the Suna siblings approach the 'gate on their own. She gave an amused glance at Sakura and Shikamaru, who were talking quietly to each other, and staring at Temari and Gaara.

x

"I'm not one to question the Hokage... but what in the name of Kami's asshole are they doing here?" Shikamaru asked in a whisper.

Sakura thought about for a moment and replied, "You weren't there for the fight between Naruto and Gaara... and what happened after that. If you had, you wouldn't be asking that question."

Shikamaru put his arms across his chest. "Then the story about Naruto defeating the One-Tail is true."

Sakura nodded and quietly asked, "You threw the match with her, didn't you?" Shikamaru nodded in reply... confirming what she suspected for a while now. "Ino knew you weren't at your limit yet; she told me that she apologized for all the things she yelled at you after you quit, and gave Temari the win."

Shikamaru's mind drifted back to that day... he shook his head to clear it. Part of him couldn't forget though, that was the day he made his first kill... and then some.

x

The last thing Temari wanted to do was utter aloud the words... _what next_. Nothing in her training, or her life of 15 years, had prepared her for this moment. She knew with complete certainty that her baby brother was willing to go through that... thing, to wherever Naruto was, and that she would have to follow.

Temari tore her eyes away from the strange metal ring and covertly glanced about... this setting was all recently created, that much she was sure of. After they had walked far enough into the chamber, she'd immediately spotted the changes, the computers and other such things. She always knew there as a difference between Suna and Konoha... The end result of their invasion with Sound against Konoha, had highlighted that difference in the worst possible way, with a humiliating defeat.

The shinobi of Suna had always taken pride in knowing that they were strong, resolute, and unique in their own way... but in this chamber, Temari could sense that Konoha was quietly gathering further strength, and power... beyond anything that Suna, or the other hidden villages, could dare hope for. She closed her eyes and silently thanked Kami that Suna had humbled itself, and chosen the hard path of regaining Konoha's trust and goodwill.

Better that they find themselves behind the wind gathering here, than in its path.

x

As Gaara, standing at the top of the ramp, reached out and touched the gray metal of the ring, his gourd uncorked and the sand within began to spread over the Stargate.

x

"Aanooo... Tsunade-sama... is that a good idea?" A wide-eyed Sakura asked, while slowly moving backwards.

"Okay, _you_ go over there and tell him to stop what he's doing." Shikamaru muttered... and matched her slow retreat.

"No thanks... I've already done my one act of reckless bravery for this year." Sakura replied, recalling her stopping an angry, frustrated Tsunade from smashing the DHD.

Tsunade looked back with a stern eye. "Both of you... _hush_. I want to see what happens next."

===8:28 AM, Stargate Room, SGC===

Ric asked quietly, "So where have you been working out, and testing out the new ... you?"

Jeri glanced back at the room's heavily-armed security, and the control room above them. "The same warehouse that I got this dolly from. It's stuffed full of crates and storage containers, with nicely uneven heights... and no prying eyes. Naruto's been giving me tips... sorta, by having me follow him around the warehouse." He checked the magazine of his Auto-Ordinance .45, re-seated it and put it back in its holster. "Where have you been working out?"

"I found a nice, private little spot. Storage Area L-5, it's not unlike your warehouse, but the interior lighting is mostly shut down... lots of darkness and shadows, so it suits my particular needs quite well." Ric looked back at the control room again... still no okay from Hammond. He whispered, "It's also given me an opportunity to work out the kinks between me and Mr. Chakra now that we're, after a fashion, on speaking terms... things are a little different now, it's not quite like the old days."

Jeri withheld any reply. The old version of Von Krieger had been scary enough... he and their old A Team had sworn a blood oath of silence over what they had seen, while he lead them. Jeri stared at the Stargate and wondered, '_Maybe it's better that he goes there... at least he'll seem less out of place there... I hope._'

===8:26 AM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

As the sand spread over the ring, Gaara reached out with his senses via the chakra-infused sand... and closed his dark-rimmed eyes. As the sand encompassed the Stargate, he perceived two distinct things; firstly, the residue of an odd, but still potent chakra; and secondly, he discerned an incongruous, growing unease in Shukaku... to the point where Gaara began to struggle for control of the normally obedient, and protective sand.

And then... Gaara's one constant, the voice in his mind, went silent.

That one point alone was beyond his reckoning; for as long as he could remember, a solitary, whispering voice was his incessant companion. At first, it offered him solace when he was lonely, and consoled Gaara when his cold and indifferent father turned away from him. Then later, when the unceasing attempts on his life began... the voice promised to protect him, always.

After a time, Gaara decided that it was the voice of the mother he never knew, but had seen in pictures, and the recollections of his siblings.

Then the turning point came; an attempt on his life by his mother's own brother, Yashamaru... and his final, callous explanation of his very existence, before his own fiery death. From that point on, the voice that whispered to him changed... the voice, and the words were the same, but the tone, and spirit behind them were not. Worse still, the whispering never ceased, becoming a relentless drumbeat inside his head... ever demanding proof of his affection, with the blood, and lives of others... and reassurance that the actions demanded of him, confirmed his existence.

The silence in Gaara's mind unnerved him; he withdrew his sand from the ring... it returned to the gourd with atypical rapidity; that done, he stepped back from the ring.

Nearby, Temari watched her brother closely... as did everyone else in the 'gate chamber.

===8:30 AM, Stargate Room, SGC===

"Finally." Jeri muttered after his saw one of the control room operators give them the thumbs-up sign. He turned to Ric and asked, "What's this place like?"

Ric watched the Stargate light up and begin cycling. As the first glyph locked into place he replied, "Hmm... a pleasant, well-ordered little town full of nice, and dangerous people."

Jeri chuckled. "That's a welcome change. Most of the places they've sent us to were chaotic shit-holes, chock full of homicidal crazies, two-faced opportunists, bandits, drug lords, and thieves moonlighting as government officials."

Ric sighed. "Ah yes... the good old days." The second chevron locked into place.

As the final chevron locked into place, the Stargate came alive, the predictable gout of energy 'kawooshed' outward, covering two-thirds of ramp's length. After a few seconds, the shimmering energy stabilized, allowing for a safe approach. Ric looked at Jeri as he began pushing the dolly towards the base of the ramp. "Let's get this show on the road."

Jeri, a few of steps behind him, replied, "And meet our new neighbors."

===8:31 AM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

The silence was broken as the Stargate lit up, a low hum filling the chamber... Tsunade spun towards Sakura, now standing by her computer. "Do we know who's coming through?"

Sakura frowned in thought for a moment, then replied, "Only if they send an ID code." Her eyes flashed towards the siblings from Suna and called out, "TEMARI! Get Gaara away from the 'gate..." She looked at the indicators on her monitor. "Get him outside the yellow line... NOW!"

Temari blinked and looked at Gaara, who was standing squarely in front of the alien ring, now lit at 6 points... and squarely in the center of the ramp. Given his reaction to the ring, she didn't dare touch him, regardless of their tie of blood. Temari did the only thing she could think of... she yanked her trademark, giant iron war fan off her back, opened it to the second moon... '_Forgive me, Gaa-chan._' ...and swept it at him.

"Futon: Dust Wind!" She fired off the jutsu below its usual power level... a powerful blast of wind struck a motionless, and unaware Gaara, tumbling him a couple of dozen feet before he gained his footing. Seconds later, the Stargate 'kawooshed'... the trademark gout of shimmering energy shot outward, sweeping over the spot where Gaara had been standing.

x

Blinking away the effects of the wormhole transit, Jeri had described it as... the 'cosmic roller-coaster ride', Ric stepped out of the event horizon and was immediately assailed by a powerful wave of murderous chakra. He immediately ID 'd the source of the chakra... a young, short, red-haired male standing less than 25 feet away from him. At the same time, he also noted several sandy-looking tendrils, with very sharp tips, heading in his general direction. At this point, his long years of experience, training, _and_ Mr. Chakra instantly kicked into gear...

x

Tsunade's sigh of relief after Temari's quick thinking had saved Gaara's life was very short-lived... Gaara had _not_ taken his sister's life-saving gambit well; the sand in his gourd came boiling out, formed into tendrils, and headed straight for her. Then it got worse... out of the watery energy filling the 'gate came a low, flat cart being pushed by Von Krieger, right into the path of Gaara's unthinking attack. Tsunade did the only thing that came to mind... she charged straight towards Gaara.

x

"What's your reason for coming today, Jiraiya-dono?" Kakashi asked as they neared the bottom of the ramp.

"Reason?" Jiraiya grinned playfully. "I'm the Legendary Toad Sage of Konoha; I don't need such things. Wherever I go, and whatever I do, just being there is reason enough."

"So you're not here to check out the Sebaku Clan Heir, or trying to grope Tsunade-sama?" Anko asked with a wry smile.

Jiraiya put on his best indignant face. "Nonsense... I've got plenty of willing, beautiful ladies for that kind of..." He fell silent as the chakra of an enraged Gaara sweep over them. All of them broke into a sprint... with Jiraiya clearly in the lead.

x

Without conscious direction, Ric's core mass of chakra saturated his limbs, assisting him in flinging the heavily-laden dolly directly at his chief threat, Gaara... and blocking his direct view of Ric. That done, his hands went to his upper vest, grabbed an M-84, and with practiced hands, thumbed the safety wire free and pulled the pin. Even with the sudden rush of danger, Ric had seen enough of his attacker to know it was Naruto's friend he was reacting against... lethal force wasn't an option here.

Ducking into a crouch, released his grip on the spoon on the flash-bang. He heard the 'pop' of the striker hitting the fuse and muttered... "One-potato, two-potato..." And threw the grenade under the still-airborne dolly, towards Gaara's known location. As the black cylinder contacted the smooth stone floor, it skittered and rolled... and disappeared from his sight. That done, Ric rolled backwards, landing in a four-point crouch with the ramp between him and Gaara, wincing at the sound of the dolly and its cargo, being destroyed.

x

Gaara struggled to regain control of the sand... or at least half of him did. In his mind, he heard two voices, one he was all too familiar with... the voice that demanded blood, and death against anything that upset, or threatened him. The second voice, he vaguely remembered from his early childhood... the one that comforted him when he was sad and lonely, begging him to stop his attack on his sister, and the stranger that had appeared out of the ring. At the moment, the former voice was dominating his actions.

The raging Gaara smiled as his sand penetrated, and rent apart the strange cart and its cargo... '_Such a foolish, futile attempt at defense._' Suddenly, a small black object, appeared from beneath it, rolling towards him along the floor. As it was not a weapon he recognized, Gaara paid it no heed until it got close enough for him to sense the chakra within it... an added bonus that the thrower was unaware of.

As Tsunade and Jiraiya closed on Gaara, both of them saw, and wondered about, the black object sliding towards him... less than 5 feet away from its target, the chakra-augmented grenade went off... the resulting flash, and simultaneous, flame-tinged, concussive blast was quite... impressive.

x

Jeri, holding a large envelope, given to him at the very last moment and the cause for his delay, stepped out of the event horizon and onto Naruto's world. His announcement, "Sorry I'm late..." died as he looked about him. To his left was the ruined remains of the dolly, its cargo strewn about, along with a bunch of papers fluttering about, slowly coming to rest. To his front, easily over 25 meters away, was a cluster of people, his boss amongst them.

Shaking his head, Jeri started walking towards the small crowd. He muttered to himself, "I told ya we shoulda called first."

===8:45 AM, Stargate Chamber, KSC===

"Is everybody healed now?" A slightly singed Tsunade asked. She and an ANBU with med-nin training had healed anybody who had suffered from the effects of the blast.

Anko playfully asked, "Anybody want a drink?" She produced a bottle of sake from under her coat.

Tsunade glared at an equally mussed-up Jiraiya as he reached for the bottle; he put his hands behind his back and smiled sheepishly. She turned and faced the Suna siblings. "I had hoped your first impression would have gone better. I trust we can put this all behind us now?"

Temari looked briefly at the pair of oddly dressed men that had come through the... Stargate, and replied, "It went well enough for me, and since neither of us suffered any lasting harm,..." She glanced at a slightly scorched and disheveled Gaara, who nodded in agreement. "...I see no reason to worry about it any further."

"Has my visit to see Naruto been approved?" Gaara asked.

Ric held up his comm unit and smiled. "Yes, it has." He looked at Temari and nodded. She had pulled him aside earlier, made a couple of suggestions, and a request. "All the necessary arrangements have been seen to." He turned to Jeri, who was chatting with Kakashi and Jiraiya. "Sergeant Major Hayes, would you mind hanging out here while I escort Gaara-san and his sister over to SGC?"

"Not at all, boss." Jeri smiled affably. "I'll find something to do while I'm waiting around."

"I'll make sure that your possessions... what's left of them, are gathered up." Tsunade said, then turned to Neko with a frown. "You may as well make your people useful since..."

"We'll take care of Ric-dono's things, Tsunade-sama." Sakura stepped forward, with Shikamaru in tow... by his collar. "I'm to blame for Gaara-san being inside the danger area... I should have said something earlier on about it. Besides, the entire incident took less than 6 seconds." She pointed at her computer.

She continued before Tsunade could respond, "There was nothing the ANBU could have done... except further escalate the situation. I've seen Gaara-san at his worst with my own eyes." She bowed apologetically to him. "If not for Naruto-kun, then only you two Sannin would have a chance of subduing Gaara... and Kami only knows what the damage to this chamber would have been, in either case."

Jiraiya laughed, stepped forward, and affectionately patted Sakura on the head. "You take care of this one, Hime... if not, I _will_ snatch her away from you, and make her my apprentice."

Tsunade took a step forward, put her fists on her hips and growled, "Like hell you will... you old pervert. She's _my_ apprentice."

Sakura's eyebrows went up. "I am?"

"Yes, you are." Tsunade replied, then looked at Kakashi. "Your new job will be to work with, and watch over our new military advisors. If you need Genin for any associated missions, I'll entertain any requests... within reason."

Kakashi raised an bemused eyebrow. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade motioned to Jiraiya. "You come with me. We have a number of things that still need to be discussed." Jiraiya sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Pardon me, Hokage-dono." Ric raised his hand. "Will you have time today to meet with me?"

"Possibly. However, I'd rather we talk here... some issues have come up since your last visit." Tsunade replied, then looked at Kakashi and added, "My earlier orders still stand, understood?" Kakashi acknowledged her comment with a nod.

x

Ric approached Gaara and Temari; both of them had moved closer to the Stargate. "Anytime you're ready, we can make the transit over to SGC."

Before Gaara could respond, Temari said, "I'm ready,..." She looked at Gaara. "...but I think you should neaten up a little. I don't think you want to meet Naruto looking like you just had a fight... it might spoil the mood of your reunion."

Ric shrugged in reply. "Sorry about that... it seemed like the best idea at the time." He added with a thoughtful look, "Normally, flash-bangs _aren't_ that potent... I'll need to set that lot number aside."

Gaara shook his head and replied softly, "Don't be... I was able to regain control of the sand because of your actions,..." He bowed slightly to Ric. "...and I thank you for that. I was on the verge of dishonoring my friendship with Naruto by harming Konoha, my sister, and you."

Temari gave Ric a curious look. "That wasn't the normal effect of your weapon?"

Ric scratched his head. "Not at all, we account it as a non-lethal device." He recalled the moment he'd peeked over the ramp, after the bone-rattling explosion, and saw a slightly staggered, and smoldering Gaara... and to his surprise, apparently unharmed by the blast.

"There was chakra added to it." Gaara said matter-of-factly.

Ric blinked with surprise. "Are you sure about that?"

Gaara nodded curtly. "Absolutely. And my sister is correct, I should make myself more presentable for Naruto." At that, he bowed slightly to Ric, turned and walked away.

Temari crooked her head in thought. '_Curious... he's not lying._' She added a frown. '_How could he not be aware that he'd injected chakra into his weapon... that's not possible, not by everything I know._' After mulling it over for a long moment, she utilized an ability she didn't discuss with anyone outside her family circle... she carefully reached out to get a sense of his chakra.

Despite her rigorous training, Temari flinched in surprise when Von Krieger reacted with a sudden glance... looking down at her with narrowed, but amused eyes.

"No peeking." Ric said with a coy smile.

She turned away and made a show of adjusting her sash. '_He must be a sensor too._' Temari didn't get a solid feel for his chakra level, but she knew it was considerable. Composing herself, she decided to draw him out, and turned back to face him. "What is your... world like?"

"Like yours, but not. I've seen a bit of what Konoha has to offer, besides what Naruto has told me. I regard your world as a curiosity... seemingly old-fashioned, yet not." Ric replied.

"Oh really? How old fashioned are we?" Temari asked with an amused smile.

"Hmm... that's honestly difficult to answer. On the one hand, this world is capable of producing simple computers, models we quit using at least 30 years ago. On the other hand, my sense of the average life-style seems a century, or more, behind us." Ric replied blandly.

Temari kept her face neutral. '_He's not lying... nor boasting._' She considered her next question carefully before voicing it. "Why are you here... I mean why are you here in Konoha?"

Ric chuckled. "Me? I guess because I was stupid enough to accept the assignment." He smiled at the irritated look on Temari's face. "I'm sorry, I guess that wasn't a proper answer to a fairly reasonable question."

"No, it wasn't... I watched you confront my brother, you're anything but stupid." Temari replied.

Ric spread his hands. "Okay, I'm busted. Alright, the simple truth is that I'm here because the Stargate is here, and... because of Naruto and Hinata. They were recovered by one of SGC's teams and brought back to my world. There's obviously a lot more to the story, but I'll let somebody else explain that, once we get back to Stargate Command." Before Temari could react, Ric reached out and gently tweaked her nose. "Besides, we have our secrets too... S-Ranked or otherwise."

Temari half-smiled. "I assumed as much." She decided to see how open Von Krieger could be. "The Hokage called you a military advisor, does this mean that Konoha will be acting against its enemies?"

"Sorta." Ric's cheerful mood turned sober. "If you mean thwart and frustrate, then yes. But if you're thinking that I'll give weapons to Konoha capable of annihilating their enemies, and rival Hidden Villages... then no." He gave Temari a discerning look. "What you think you know is only the tip of the iceberg; don't think badly of the Hokage for withholding the whole truth from you."

Ric pointed at the Stargate. "_That_ is what we call a game-changer, its affected my world, and it _will_ affect yours. One of my personal tasks is to insure that your world doesn't fall to pieces, or gets consumed in a world-wide war over who possesses that damned thing."

Temari immediately grasped the magnitude of the situation, and understood why Tsunade had been so cagey about the truth of Naruto's status. "Iwa and Kumo would eagerly start a war to crush Konoha... then turn on each other for control of... that." She nodded at the alien ring.

Ric gave Temari a frank, and thoughtful stare. "And then there's you... and what's to be done with Suna."

Temari's eyes fell. "It's about the invasion... you don't trust us."

Ric sighed loudly. "No, that's in the past as far as I'm concerned. Furthermore, I only know Konoha's viewpoint on that bit of history." He shook his head. "Honestly, I'm no expert on Hidden Village-style statecraft... but I _do_ know something about intrigue... pettiness, or insanity aside, alliances usually aren't broken on a whim." He gave Temari a frank look. "Care to enlighten me on that matter?"

Temari bit her lower lip; her natural instinct to keep her Village's doings, and woes, away from outsiders warred with a need to voice her bottled-up frustrations... and quiet anger. '_He's an outlander, but that also means he has no ties... except to Konoha._' She whispered, "I could, but not here. We'll talk after we go through the Stargate to see Naruto."

"Fair enough, I can wait." He nodded in agreement. "As far as I'm concerned, Suna's starting with a clean slate... just do your best to keep it that way."

Temari blinked in surprise. "Thank you. I only wish that some of the nins in Konoha were as forgiving as Tsunade-sama, and you."

Ric frowned and shook his head. "Yeah... that's just _one_ of my problems... getting your two villages back on the same page. As long as suspicion, anger, and doubt remains a factor, Suna's effectiveness as an active ally will be compromised, and that won't do. Konoha needs in-theater allies, and the list of candidates is pretty damn thin."

Temari frowned at Von Krieger's odd speech; and, his assessment; she found no cause to disagree with him. "Don't you have shinobi, or anything like it to send here?" Despite his neutral face, she readily sensed his unease.

Ric shook his head in reply. "At this stage of our relationship with Konoha... it'll just be an advisory group, and that isn't a whole lot of people. Besides, their existence will have to be managed _very_ carefully; it's critical that our presence here be viewed as benign, and muted."

'_He's avoiding the subject of shinobi... yet he is one... why?_' She decided to question Tsunade further on that matter, among other things.

x

(Well over 20 yards away...)

Kakashi glanced up from his copy of Icha-Icha at Jeri. "So what are your plans for today?"

Sitting at a table, Jeri looked at the ruined dolly and the mangled boxes surrounding it. "Well... I was gonna unpack my stuff..." He switched his gaze to Kakashi. "...the boss said y'all had a place for us here, right?"

Kakashi eye-smiled and put his book away. "Yes we do; the ANBU technicians finished preparing several suites, and rooms for your needs, a couple of days ago. They're not very fancy, but they are furnished, and definitely roomier than most of the apartments in Konoha."

"Well that's a comfort." Jeri looked about the chamber. "This wouldn't be the first bunker I've lived in, but it is one of the better ones I've ever hung my hat on. By the way, where did the young'uns run off to?"

Neko, sitting on a nearby table replied, "They said something about getting help to clean things up, among other things." She added a shrug. "I suspect they'll be back soon enough."

Shiho came over to Jeri and asked, "Would you like some tea while you're waiting?"

He replied with a smile, "Tea's fine, although coffee would be better."

Shiho gave Jeri a quizzical look. "What is... coffee?"

Jeri raised an eyebrow and sighed. He muttered to himself, "Wonderful... Oh well, something else to put on the list of supplies." Jeri noticed that Shiho was still hovering over him and replied, "It's a hot drink made with ground-up beans, _and_ a necessity. Our world runs on coffee." He softly sighed and gave her a slight nod of the head. "Tea will be fine, thank you."

Shiho smiled and nodded. "Ah, I see... I'll get you your tea, and do some research later to see if such a thing exists on our world."

Anko joined Jeri and looked across the chamber, pointing a kunai at Ric and Temari. "What do you think they're talking about?"

Jeri noted the mischievous smile on Anko's face and replied, "This and that, I suppose."

Anko, remembering her extensive chat with Irina, replied, "Maybe he's flirting with her."

Neko shook her head. "Give it a rest Anko, not everyone is like you."

"And not everyone is as dried-up and solitary like you either." Anko shot back. "She's pretty enough... for a Suna woman, and she's available."

Jeri gave Anko a sideways glance. "The boss already has a woman, and even if he didn't, she'd be off limits."

Neko glanced at Temari and Ric. "Why? She's a clan heiress."

Jeri raised an eyebrow. "I don't how it works here, but the boss would lose his eagle, at the very least, for messing around with a gal that young."

A new voice joined the conservation. "What is wrong with my sister?" Everyone turned to face Gaara... now freshened up, standing nearby with arms crossed, a neutral expression on his face.

"Nuthin I reckon." Jeri cautiously replied. "I'm sure she's a fine ninja and all that, but... she's way too young."

Gaara looked at his sister, the man she was talking to, then looked at Jeri. He asked blandly, "Too young for what? She is the head of the Sebaku Clan, a kunoichi of Suna, and an adult. Are there further requirements on your world?"

Jeri was at a momentary loss for words. After mulling it over, he replied, "All that may be true, but where we come from, the law says your sister is a minor... and that's all that'll matter to a courts-martial. I'm guessing you have similar laws here."

Kakashi scratched head. "Actually... we don't. If I understand your issue correctly, the only pertinent facts are whether or not adults are involved, and the age of consent... which in Fire Country is 12 years. I'm sure that Naruto and Hinata have mentioned our laws to you, and all the other Hidden Villages are, more or less, the same." He pointed at his hitai-ite. "I earned this at the age of 5; from that moment on, I was regarded as a _full_ adult... that is the law in Konoha."

Gaara nodded. "The laws of Suna equally match Konoha's on that particular subject."

Neko, having a better grasp of the situation, and mildly amused by Jeri's confusion, spoke up. "I believe Jeri-san's misreckoning comes from not fully knowing our customs, and rules. I've read the basic information about Jeri-san's nation, and it's not unlike ours... a civilian side, and a military side." Jeri nodded in agreement.

She continued, "However, within the Hidden Villages, shinobi law and customs dominate general society... what's considered normal is decided by the Kage, and the common customs of the Clans. An additional point to bear in mind is the Hokage does not interfere with how the Clans handle their own affairs, or any such customs they have, unless it falls too far outside Fire Country's law. Ultimately, all civilians within a Village exist, and conduct business at the sufferance of their Kage... and likewise with any settlement that has shinobi as its core group."

Jeri mulled that over and nodded. "You're describing military rule over civilians... okay, that's not the way things usually work for us, but that's clear enough."

Deciding to relax her usual demeanor, Yuugao removed her porcelain mask and continued the lecture. "An additional element are the different types of shinobi, and their respective families."

"I got that part straight, Hinata-san talked about the clan ninjas, and the non-clan types... basically two different groups." Jeri answered back.

Yuugao frowned slightly and replied, "That's not quite right. Actually, in Konoha there are three groups: the non-clan nins fall into two different categories. There's the Honshoku-Nins, they're the multi-generation families that send their children to the Academy to become shinobi. The others are the children that come from ordinary civilian families, aspiring to become nins."

Yuugao paused in thought and continued, "Between those two types, the Honshoku's typically adopt the customs and bylaws of the Clan families they admire. They also get a certain amount of forbearance by the Hokage. In either case, relationships between nins isn't quite the same as marriage; most kunoichi's choose to retire upon marrying, or deciding that they want a child. With Genin, and the higher ranks, it's slightly different. Since all nins are adults, relationships are neither encouraged, nor discouraged... although a nin's parents might have something to say about it."

Yuugao stood up. "However, with Genin Teams, the attitude of their particular Jonin-sensei is a deciding factor. There's no common opinion on the subject, but all worthwhile Jonin-sensei's _will_ say something if a Genin couple is focusing more on each other, instead of becoming skilled nins."

Kakashi added, "Or it's harming the group dynamic of the Jonin Team, that's why some Jonin-sensei insist that all their Genin be of the same sex."

Jeri considered all the information, and the term Yuugao had used, recalling the meaning of the word. "That makes sense to me, anything that interferes with professional conduct should be frowned upon. And, we have the exact same tradition; it goes by several different names, military families; or army, navy, and marine families... they can have a tradition of service with one particular branch, or just military service in general." Jeri smiled fondly. "I come from an army family... our service goes back at least 8 generations, that I know of."

Kakashi eye-smiled and nodded in appreciation. "In Konoha, such a family would be accorded great respect, even from the clan nins. In fact, that was one of the reasons why there was no resistance to Minato-sensei becoming the Yondaime Hokage... he was the first non-clan nin to earn the rank of Hokage. He came from a Honshoku family outside of Konoha. They lived in an allied village near Amegakure, run by the Kohaku Clan; his family sent him to here to get an Academy education."

Shiho, walking up with a steaming cup of tea added, "I'm fairly sure that his being a genuine hero, and a brilliant shinobi didn't hurt either." She added a smile, "He inspired me to become a nin..." She frowned slightly. "...even though I wasn't the best field kunoichi to come out of the Academy."

"Ma ma, Shiho-san..." Kakashi waved his hand. "...your job as a code-breaker is just as important as any other nin in Konoha; perhaps more so." She blushed lightly at his praise.

x

Gaara quietly watched the interplay of the Konoha nins... what struck him was the family-like air between them, unlike the cold cohesion of Suna nins. Both Villages had order and discipline, but not the same level of... closeness. He decided to investigate this further, though he wasn't sure how to go about it.

Then there was the matter of the strangers, they also merited further scrutiny. He nodded to himself. '_Going to where Naruto is should gain me more insight._' He covertly watched his sister's give-and-take with the other man for a few moments. Von Krieger sparked his curiosity... learning more about Konoha's newest allies would be a must for Suna.

x

Gaara broke his watchful silence. "I've prepared myself to visit Naruto... I wish to go now."

As everyone turned to face him, Jeri stood up and whistled loudly. After he caught Ric's eye, Jeri made a hand-sign that his boss acknowledged with a nod. After a moment of reflection, Jeri asked, "Don't we have to wait for Sakura-san's return to operate the Stargate?"

Shiho smiled and replied, "Not really, I've learned how to operate the computer program that'll send the proper ID code to SGC, and I know the glyphs for Earth's address by heart. I'll input them into the DHD for you."

Gaara nodded at that, and began walking towards Temari and Ric.

x

End Chapter 14

Author's Notes: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. You noticed it's shorter than the others, this is because of an almost last minute decision to split 'Ripples' into 2 chapters so the focus could be sharpened on the main events... in this case, Gaara. Chap 15 will be 'Ripples: Part 2' and focus on Gaara's trip to SGC, and Jeri's visit to Konoha. Both sides are important to the story, as I hope most of you are following along the main plot, and various sub-plots weaving everything together. This is VERY difficult to do and I hope some of you are catching all the hints being dropped throughout the chapters at upcoming events, both large and small.

x

Editor/Co-author's Notes: I'm a tad disappointed that nobody took a stab at ID'ing the OC's in chapter 13... oh well, it'll become clearer in the next chapter. And BTW, I've done some hard searching and there is NO Namikaze Clan, that is strictly a fanon invention (...which is okay by me); hence the presenting of my AU version of the origin of the Yondaime Hokage (and the creation of the Honshoku Nins, adding a new layer to Konoha nin social structure).

And for those readers out there who are wondering where the 'age of consent' number came from, the age of 12 was the standard in Japan until the early 20th Century... so that settles the issue of what constitutes 'jail-bait' in this AU. And, just happens to coincide with the typical age of an Academy graduate. I'll let _you_ decide if Kishimoto-sensei had that in mind when he created Naruto's world.

x

Replies to our reviewers:

Author Replies:

Adrian Nightshade: I'll put up a pic of the new village emblem sometime this month, linked to my profile.

stalin 44: Thanks, but the bulk of the military stuff (not from SG1) is from my Co-Author, so I'll let him handle this part of the reply.

MWkillkenny84: Again, this is more my Co-Author's area... and he'd give a better answer anyway. LOL

Gespenster Jager: Your clever idea has been duly noted, thanks. Is a good chance this will be used in a future chapter... once we get everything rolling on the Earth visits.

Dany le fou: Um... ya, I have to agree on the nuclear issue. That's in the 'Last Resort' file.

Deathmvp: The bulk of the reply I'll let my Co-Author handle... but I will say that I'm a little offended you'd call chapter 13 'filler', that makes me want to grab a bar of soap and... Anyway, due to its complexity we can't always focus on Naruto and/or Hinata (though they are the stars of the fic) everything needs to be developed, not just them. I'll say this once... this fic has no 'filler' chapters.

ShadowFreddyRaven: Please repeat... in English. *scratches head in confusion*

Kyren: I defer again to my Co-Author.

Co-author's Replies:

zigmas: Hopefully, this chapter will answer your question about Naruto's return... Madara is one _scary_ dude... believe it.

Kyren: I believe my PM to you addressed your thoughtful points. Thanks again for your input.

Albert da Snake: My my... you are an impatient one, ain't ya? Don't worry, everything in its proper time.

And don't worry about the Uzumaki's (or the Senju's), they're out there... _somewhere_. *Bwahahahahahaha*

zmanjz: As to your one point, prod Mike on that issue... the SG1 side of the story is his baby.

Glad you like the OC's, there's more come about them (as revealed in this chapter). There's a lot of details to bring out, at the proper time & place. And thanks for your other point, _everything_ is in the story for a reason... even if it seems like filler, it ain't.

ShadowFreddyRaven: De nada... y gracias.

Deathmvp: 'filler'...? Evidently you've never watched Meteor Hunters... there's 4 & 5-figure rocks lurking amongst the weeds you're ignoring. Ninja vs SysLords... I've done that dance already. And don't worry about the guns thing... all the choices will marry up well with those Narutoverse characters getting one.

narutorasatard: Glad somebody thinks so... unlike others.

MWkillkenny84: That's a classic question... what _are_ the mooks more afraid of... the enemy, or their boss? (the Kull don't count, they're not scared of _anything_). As to your one question... wait and see. *Hehehehehehe*

x-marks-the-spot1974: Thanks... my Muse appreciates it.

stalin 44: Thanks... been there, done that (and got the T-shirt). The MP5 & M4SOG are good weapons, but with Naruto, a weapon should compliment him, that's the rub in picking out just the _right_ _one_ for him.

The other thing to bear in mind is that it's 2003 and many of the weapons I _really_ like don't exist yet. Keeping tech in sync with the story time-line is a _major_ aspect of my research when I write.

snowecat: Now _that_, is a compliment. Thank you very much.

And to everybody else who took the time to review, _many_ thanks... don't be a stranger, put your 2 cents in for this chapter.

x

Glossary/Translations:

oryoki - [Jap.] (A monk's) begging bowl

"I bolshe ne trahay strannih princess bez moevo razreshenia." - "Don't fuck any strange princesses without my permission."

shakhmaty - [Russ.] Chess

BATF - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (The 'shine, smokes, and gun police.)

fifty-cals - [slang for] The M2HB .50 caliber heavy machine gun (A time-tested classic from Mr. Browning.)

Honshoku - [Jap.] 'professional' (The 'blue collar' nins of Konoha...)


	15. Chapter 15 sneak peek

Author Note: This is a sneak peek of Chapter 15, and one of the last things my co-author worked on before he disappeared. This will be up AT LEAST 3 months, and up to a year, when the full chapter will be posted and this removed. It kills me that I can't seem to get a reply from him... I don't even know if he's alive, anything wwould be good, even just telling me he can't work on this anymore for what ever reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this preview... oh this is nearing the end of the first Arc, then things wil pick up, story-wise, with new worlds, OC's, plot twists and development, etc... you know, all the good stuff.

Mke

x

===April 21, 9:05 AM, SG1 Team Room, Level 26===

Jack suppressed a snicker as he looked over at Naruto and Hinata playing checkers. '_He is so screwed... just one more wrong move and she'll romp all over him._' He decided to cut Naruto a break. "Hey you two,..." Jack turned his chair to face them. "...don't you have some math modules to finish up?"

Hinata glanced up from the game board with an agreeable smile. "I finished mine yesterday, Jack-san. Sam promised me a new science block when I finished..." She patted the workbook next to her. "...this."

Jack switched his gaze to Naruto. "And what about you, sport?"

Staring a hole in the checkerboard, Naruto waved his hand airily. "I'll finish it today... after I finish off Hinata-chan."

Jack snorted in amusement. '_Good luck with that, champ._' "Okay, after you finish up that game, its back to your studies. Don't forget what Sam said, if you and Hinata finish up _all_ the learning modules... _before_ the end of the month, General Hammond would consider another 3-day pass for the both of you."

Hinata narrowed her eyes at Naruto. '_I want to go to the mall again._' She added aloud, "Don't worry Jack-san, he _will_ finish his assignments."

Naruto gulped at the tone in Hinata's voice. "I'll get to it... _really_ soon."

"That's only 9 days away, Naruto." Daniel added, then held up a small, well-worn book. "By the way, have you thought over my request to look at the scroll you were given on Tougen?"

Naruto let out a tiny smile as moved a piece on the checker board, then switched his attention back to Daniel. "I suppose it would be okay, the voice..." He noted the tiny frown of Hinata's face. "...I mean Akarumu-sama, _didn't_ say that anybody else couldn't look at it. Besides, I can't wait to see the look on Pervy Sage's..." He gulped as the frown on Hinata's face deepened. "...Jiraiya-sensei's face when I show it to him."

He looked at the book Shiho had given Daniel, noting the title... 'The Fundamental Fuinjutsu Reader'. "Is there something wrong with that book?" Naruto cocked his head. "That's the same book Jiraiya-sensei gave me... he wrote it himself, and Kakashi-sensei said it was a _really_ good book."

Daniel smiled in reply. "I'm sure it is, but I'd like to compare it to the scroll. I want to see if there's any transcription loss since your scroll would be considered a... master copy."

Hinata noticed the blank look on Naruto's face and said, "Do you remember the message game that Fumiko-sensei taught us?"

Jack watched Naruto's face as he went into search mode... suddenly a warm smile appeared. As Naruto nodded, his face burst into a grin. "Yeah... that's the same as the... telephone game Ric-san played with us on the way to the mall." Naruto suddenly laughed, "The message game was fun, especially when Ino-chan would get angry at Shika for messing up the message on purpose." Naruto suddenly Henged into a 7-year old, sleepy-eyed Shikamaru and said, "This is all too troublesome." ... then dismissed the Henge.

Hinata giggled behind her hand. "I liked Fumiko-sensei." Then her face turned sad. "It's too bad that she went away after the mid-term."

Jack leaned forward in his chair. "I thought all your main teachers at the Academy were male Chuunin?"

Naruto nodded. "They were, 'cept for the kunoichi sensei's. Umiko-sensei took over our Second Year class after..." He thought about it for a moment. "...Juro-sensei got _really_ sick."

Jack smiled slyly. "And you didn't have anything to do with that, did you?" He looked directly at Naruto.

Naruto shook his head vigorously. "Nope... they didn't talk about basic poisons until the fifth year." He muttered under his breath. "Or else I might have... he was really mean to me."

Daniel's eyebrows went up at that. He asked, "So what happened to the other Sensei?"

Naruto's face went neutral as he shrugged. "I asked the Old Man about it, but all he'd say is that Fumiko-sensei got picked for a mission." His face saddened. "She never came back, and nobody would talk about her."

Hinata looked at Jack and added, "Fumiko-sensei probably got sent on an S-Ranked mission... she was a _really_ good Sensei; she once taught our class blind-folded." She smiled. "She even knew when Kiba was making faces at her."

Jack gave Naruto a suspicious smile. "And you didn't?"

Naruto went wide-eyed. "Oh no, Fumiko-sensei was really nice to me... just like Iruka-sensei." Naruto pursed his lips. "Even though I pranked him a lot." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hinata looking at the checker board; suddenly she reached out and... _tap, tap_ "King me, Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a cute smile at his reaction to her jumping 2 of his checkers.

Naruto pouted as he examined the board. "How'd you do that... I had you trapped."

"You left an opening here..." Hinata pointed to a spot on the board. "...that I used to escape."

Inside Naruto's Mindscape, the Kyuubi was laughing. While easier than chess, checkers was a strategic enough game to make mental training fun for him. Long experience gave her the insight to nullify Hinata's strategy, and defeat her. And the good sense to let Naruto learn from his mistakes.

She wanted to help him as much as the people training, and teaching her host... but there was a right way, and a wrong way to go about it. Constantly shielding him from minor, and non-lethal errors, would prevent him from gaining the experience, and insight, Naruto needed to achieve true wisdom.

When she was finally let out, among other people, she'd have to thank Jack for teaching this game to Naruto... chess was still a little over Naruto's head. She didn't understand how it worked, but that... video game, was helping him too. The silly fighting games were her favorites though. And, Jack's reminder that another outing could happen excited her; the Kyuubi recalled the two meals Naruto had experienced; the memory of the huge rib roast ignited one of her favorite food fantasies... the handsome, fox-haired man setting a huge platter of ribs in front of her.

The Kyuubi giggled girlishly and rocked back and forth, rapt with the possibilities a whole new world gave her... at least 2 or 3 centuries worth of fun, at least.

===April 21, 9:15 AM, Gate Room, SGC===

As Ric and Temari stepped out of the puddle, yet another nickname for the event horizon, he almost released her hand... until she staggered slightly. "Stand still... it'll pass in a moment."

Temari blinked and shook her head. Von Krieger hadn't lied... other than _very_ brief humming noise in her ears, and a swirling sensation as she stepped through the ring, nothing approaching what she considered pain, or discomfort, beset her.

As her stomach, and balance reset she took in the details of the odd looking, well-lit chamber; a motionless Gaara, standing halfway down the illuminated metal ramp. And, the line of men, identically dressed and equipped for battle... that much she could guess. Temari breathed a sigh of relief, noting that none of their outlandish weapons were pointed at Gaara... though it was obvious that they were solely focused on him.

Ric frowned at the sight of the security detachment. '_Dammit. I told them to stand down._' As he took consolation that none of the SP's were pointing their weapons at Gaara, his expanded senses kicked in... something was off... concentrating on Gaara, he discerned that the formidable power the young Suna nin constantly radiated had muted... no, he corrected himself... it was fading, not in power, but as though... He quietly advised, "Temari-san, see to your brother."

Temari turned to ask Von Krieger what was wrong... and flinched in surprise. The tall stranger's gray eyes were churning like a pair of ominous clouds... '_A Doujutsu...!?_' ...and fixed on Gaara. Without comment, she rushed towards Gaara, equally confused as she also noted amiss about him. Reaching his side, she pivoted and interposed herself between Gaara and the line of men facing him.

"Gaara, what's wrong..." The question faded away as she looked at his face; his black-rimmed, pale, pupil less, jade-green eyes registered neither the sudden movement, nor Temari's presence before him. She slowly waved her hand before Gaara's face; his lack of reaction didn't raise as much concern as another detail... she discerned a network of fine cracks all over Gaara's face... then froze in alarm as tiny flakes of his ever-present sand armor began to fall away. '_Impossible... Shukaku would never..._'

Ric, an arms-length away from them, saw the concern on Temari's face morph into a look of apprehension. He switched his gaze to the control room, noting scant attention from them... he tamped down any reaction; for them, it was just another day.

Erring on the side of caution, he looked at the senior-most SP. "Contact Doctor..." He saw Temari gingerly touch her brother... and watched him collapse bonelessly onto the ramp. "Get me a medic and a stretcher, _now_. Alert the Infirmary, and keep them on the line until I _personally_ speak to Dr. Fraiser."

He knelt beside Temari as the SP's scrambled in compliance, touched Gaara's neck and detected a faint, but regular pulse... he frowned at the sight of Gaara's skin falling away until he rubbed his fingertips together, feeling the fine-grained substance. '_Sand?_' He glanced at Temari. "Help me get that... gourd off his back. We need to get him on his back."

Temari grabbed Von Krieger's right wrist, halting his reaching for the gourd. "No! Don't touch it... it's chakra infused sand, it'll..." Her comment died as Von Krieger's left hand touched the gourd... and _nothing_ happened. She saw his still-churning eyes looking directly at it.

"I sense nothing." His simple comment chilled, and further confused her. She mentally slapped herself and focused on her baby brother. '_What's happening to him?_'

===April 21, 9:16 AM, SG1 Team Room, Level 26===

Naruto nodded, sighed, and king 'ed Hinata's piece. "The Kings can move in any direction, right?" Hinata nodded.

Naruto was about to comment when alarms suddenly went off. Moments later they heard a voice over the intercom. "_Medical Team to the Gate Room... Dr. Fraiser to the Gate Room._"

An unexplainable urge came over Hinata, she suddenly stood up, drawing looks from Naruto and Daniel. "I need to go..." She touched the hip pouch holding the wrapped-up Gem of Life and turned towards the door.

Naruto stood up as well. "What's wrong Hinata? His examination of her body language for a clue got derailed by Hinata's jumpsuit-enhanced curves. '_Gaah! Not now... focus Naruto, focus!_'

===Naruto's Mindscape===

Roused from her semi-torpid state by his silent self-rebuke, the Kyuubi briefly giggled then stirred as she sensed... '_**Shu-chan?**_' She morphed into her hanyou form and attempted to use Naruto's senses to bypass the seal imprisoning her. The Kyuubi growled in frustration and spoke up. "**Naruto! Quit staring at Hinata's ass!**"

He subtlety flinched at the Kyuubi's reprimand. '_I wasn't staring at..._' Naruto chopped off his reply as he realized that he _was_ focused on her gently curved backside. '_Never mind that.'_ He sensed that the Kyuubi was agitated about something. '_What's up?_'

There was a long moment of silence as the Kyuubi used Naruto's undistracted mind to channel his senses and peer into SGC. It had been ages since her last encounter with Shukaku, she didn't count the battle during the Invasion because her mind wasn't truly her own, but there was no mistaking the One-Tail's chakra. '_**Yes... that's Shukaku's chakra.**_' She puzzled over the queer aspect of her fellow bijuu's chakra signature.

Naruto inwardly frowned at the Kyuubi's extended silence. '_Hello... anybody in there?_'

The Kyuubi smothered her annoyance at Naruto's quip and got to the matter at hand. "**Shu-chan's here.**"

Openly confused, he asked, '_Shu... who?_'

The Kyuubi chuckled. "**Shukaku.**" She readily sensed Naruto's incomprehension and promised herself to make sure he knew all the Bijuu's names; she added helpfully, "**It's the One-Tail's name.**"

Naruto jerked in surprise. '_Gaara's here?_'

The Kyuubi grinned. "**One **_**does**_** come with the other silly.**" She noted his bubbling excitement and added, "**Hold on there... you can't just blurt out that your friend is here.**"

'_But..._' Naruto protested.

"**But nothing, brat.**" The Kyuubi replied. "**His arrival has yet to be announced, so you'll have to explain **_**how**_** you know he's here... get it?**" She channeled his senses again... even though they'd been in contact for a few seconds, Naruto was already drawing curious stares from his companions because of his silence... and doubtlessly, the blank look on his face. "**Trust me and listen, your friend is probably **_**not**_** in danger.**" She berated herself for not fully explaining to him what had happened after she had arrived on Earth. "**Just tell Jack to find out what's wrong and go from there. I'll explain everything later... I promise.**"

===Real World===

Jack cocked an eyebrow. "He's doing it again." Naruto had gone stock still and blank-faced.

Hinata ably masked her concern, in spite of Daniel's probing stare... the cover story of 'meditation' wasn't going to cut it this time. '_What are you hiding, Naruto?_'

Naruto suddenly jerked, turned to Jack and unevenly asked, "Maybe you should call... and find out what happened?"

Jack eyed Naruto closely, then looked at Daniel. "I don't think he's an android copy." He looked back at Naruto. "Where'd that sensible idea come from?"

"Hey! I do think ahead... sometimes." Naruto huffed... then suddenly rounded on Hinata. "Use your Byakuugan to see what's going on in the Gate Room... please."

Hinata's look of surprise was quickly replaced by a proud smile. She gave Jack a sideways look. "Naruto is smart, and sensible." She added silently, '_Most of the time._' Hinata activated her Doujutsu and stared at the floor; the Gate Room was only 3 levels down, easily within the limit of her Byakuugan. As she stared at the floor, Hinata said, "I'll look for Janet-sensei too."

Daniel chuckled. "Both are good ideas." He smiled at Jack. "Wouldn't you say?"

Jack shook his head, reached for his phone, and muttered, "I would have thought of it too... given half a chance."

===9:15 AM, Gate Chamber, KSC===

After a brief delay in the hallway with 2 SP's, they went in behind Janet... and Naruto froze at what he saw.

"Please stay back, I don't want anyone getting hurt! I..." Temari's face lit up with happiness. "Naruto!"

When the small crowd parted, Naruto gasped in shock, any pleasantries would have to wait. "What's wrong with Gaara?" He exclaimed then ran up to Temari, followed by Hinata, and Janet who Hinata had to stop from getting too close. "Don't mention Shukaku." Naruto whispered to Temari, she gave him a small nod.

"I don't know. We came through that..." Temari motioned to the Stargate. "...he took a couple steps and froze, when I touched him he collapsed." Temari paused very briefly as she glanced around at the armed guards, she didn't know exactly what they were carrying, but Tsunade had briefly explained what they could do. She'd seen pictures of the guns they used in Snow and a few other places, these were a lot more advanced. Her mind raced, she was very familiar with how people reacted to her baby brother most of his life, she'd die before she let that happen again, or hurt Konoha in any way.

"Gaara's sand is reacting to his instincts and won't let anyone but me near him." Temari stated carefully, noting the redhead that arrived with Naruto wasn't scared, but genuinely concerned that she couldn't help him. She glanced at Gaara, sand tentacles were whipping around him, but staying within a 3 to 4 foot area. "Are you a Med nin?"

Janet's focus shifted to the blonde girl with 4 short ponytails. "No, but I am the Head Doctor here, Janet Fraiser... is there any way you can help me?"

Hinata stepped forward. "Janet-sensei is the best Temari-san, please trust her... we do."

Temari scanned Hinata's face and body language... noting, and ignoring for the moment, her odd clothes and especially her figure, which surprised her. She knew from the Chuunin Exams that was Hinata Hyuuga, and while more confident now, and she honestly cared about Gaara's health, a glance at Naruto's face told her everything she needed to know... and he solved her problem as well. "That stretcher is for my little brother?" Janet nodded.

"Get it ready and make sure everyone stays clear... Naruto, you're the only person that can help him." Temari said and gave him a look she hoped he understood... she smiled briefly when he nodded. "Help me pick him up and get him on the stretcher, I'll get his feet. If I'm right, his sand won't hurt you." Temari stated then looked at Ric who'd been quiet since they arrived. "Ric-san tried to remove Gaara's gourd after he collapsed, that's when, his sand suddenly flaed up." She said, pausing briefly to choose her words when she mentioned the gourd, as she knew Gaara wasn't controlling it... Shukaku was, she could feel the difference in the chakra.

Ric nodded his agreement to Temari's statement... Mr Chakra was agitated, similar to what he first felt from Naruto, but weaker... at least, by comparison. Whatever was special about Naruto's chakra, Gaara had it to.

Naruto nodded and stepped up to Gaara, nervously pausing for a moment, then squatted and reached for the gourd to remove it. When he reached for it Gaara's sand moved to encase him and stopped a few inches from his hands, it waved over his arms as if smelling him, then to almost everyone's surprise retracted back into the gourd, grabbing the cork as it did. The stretcher was placed next to Gaara, and after a quick check he carefully slipped it off Gaara's shoulder, keeping it close to him just in case, and a moment later Temari rolled her brother onto the stretcher. Knowing how Gaara was, Naruto carefully set the gourd aross Gaara's stomach. "Thee... just don't knock it off."

Naruto moved to the end by Gaara's head and grabbed the handles. After a nod from Temari, they lifted Gaara and the 2 blondes escorted him to the Infirmary, making sure no one got near Gaara but them.

===Infirmary A===

"Be careful Naruto, I don't know if it's safe even for you. I've never seen him without it." Temari said nervously.

Naruto gave her his foxy smile. "Trust me, I can do it." Naruto started toward the bed where Gaara was laying.

Temari watched Naruto, word had reached Suna soon after she'd told Gaara about Naruto being declared dead, and it'd been confirmed after they got to Konoha. What was also revealed, at least to the shinobi of the other Hidden Villages, is what Naruto was... the Jinchuuriki of the 9-tails. This explained how Naruto was able to defeat Gaara during the failed invasion. It may change how others viewed Naruto, but to Temari it just raised her opinion of him that much more. Despite how people treated him, Naruto was the total opposite of Gaara, he was so full of life.

Everyone in the Infirmary, especially Janet, watched intently as Naruto carefully picked up the huge gourd, they got nervous when the gourd seemed to shake a moment as it was separated from it's master... but after Naruto whispered something to either the gourd or Gaara, no one was sure which, it calmed down and Naruto carried it away, setting it in a large cabinet away from where anyone normally went.

That done, Naruto returned and went to Hinata. "Can you help him Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Hinata knew what Gaara was, that was no secret to anyone in Konoha, especially the shinobi, but she didn't know if she should try using the Gem, but she had an idea that might help, or at least make Naruto-kun feel better. "Let me check him with my Byakuugan first." Naruto thought a moment then nodded. With a whisper she activated her Doujutsu and after a moment of scanning his chakra and chakra coils, she almost gasped at what she saw, hiding her reaction so she didn't worry Naruto. Even in Ric she'd never seen anything like this.

After watching for a long moment, her instincts told her that despite how he looked, Gaara would be fine. Hinata deactivated her Byakuugan and turned to Naruto. "Gaara is okay, I didn't see anything wrong with him." Hinata glanced at Janet and the few Nurses present, and remembered the cameras Naruto had told her about when he did about what happened in Akarumu's Temple. She'd nearly fainted from embarrassment that they were watching her, until Naruto promised her, that they weren't peeping her and respected her privacy. The fact that Naruto hadn't destroyed everything told her he trusted them not to be perverts... she tried not to think about it though.

While thrilled she was slowly penetrating his emotional barriers, Hinata knew she hadn't learned his biggest secrets, but she'd never push him. One of the things she knew about Naruto was you don't try to force him, the harder you push, the harder he fights back. Luckily, patience was one of her best virtues. "Come on Naruto, we've done everything we can, Janet-sensei will tell us if anything happens or she needs our help."

Naruto struggled with that for a moment then sighed. "Hai, you're right. Please take care of him Janet-sensei. I'll tell Temari." Naruto said, turned to walk out and stopped. "I almost forgot, Gaara covers himself with Sand Armor. Until the Chuunin Exams he'd never been hurt... he doesn't like pain and... freaks out, if he sees his own blood." Naruto turned and left without another word.

Hinata gave a small bow and followed Naruto out.

Janet made a note of that information, and had a bad feeling about Naruto's meaning when he said, 'freaks out'.

===9:18 AM, SG1 Team Room, Level 25===

It took less than 20 seconds for Hinata to gather enough details, and three times as long for Jack to get a clear idea of what had transpired in the Gate Room. Part of Jack wasn't the least bit surprised when he turned about in his chair and found Naruto and Hinata gone... and Daniel looking at him with an amused grin.

"Why the hell didn't you stop them?" Jack asked.

Daniel shrugged. "They had to catch Janet in the elevator. Hinata saw her leave the Infirmary and they raced out to intercept her before the lift got down to Level 28." He set the Fuinjutsu manual aside. "So what did you learn?"

Jack glanced downward and replied, "Ric came back from Konoha with 2 VIPs; one of them collapsed shortly after coming out of the event horizon." He added a sigh. "The casualty is alive, but that's the extent of details I could get out of the Control Room tech... they sounded a bit busy at the moment."

Daniel nodded and stood up. "You want some coffee while we wait for further news?"

Jack shrugged. "Sure. There's no point in going down and adding to the confusion. By the way, did Hinata say anything about who came over with Ric?" He handed his mug to Daniel as he walked by.

Daniel continued on towards the coffee maker. "I thought I heard her say, "It's Gaara. After that, Naruto bolted out of the room with Hinata on his heels... does that name sound familiar to you?"

Jack's face scrunched up in thought, after several seconds he replied, "Naruto mentioned a friend by that name from Suna..." Jack jumped up from his chair. "Fuck! He's the one Naruto fought during that sneak attack on Konoha." He spun on his heel and reached for the phone. "I gotta call the General."

===Gate Room===


End file.
